


Overcoming an Era

by Beyond_Kailani



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-23 08:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13784070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beyond_Kailani/pseuds/Beyond_Kailani
Summary: Ace is on the hunt for Blackbeard when he runs into a familiar face and, together with Luffy, battles the odds to overcome a decade of amnesia.





	1. The Dawn of the Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been writing this fic on and off since chapter 794 was released so I cannot begin to describe to you how happy I am that I can finally share this with you guys! 
> 
> Some dialogue has been taken/paraphrased from the anime/manga and doesn’t belong to me. 
> 
> Dedicated to the wonderful Mithril for all her support, and also to the half dozen other people who kindly encouraged me and kept my spirits up. You know who you all are! :D

It was the wonderful day for sailing. The skies were clear, the waters calm, and the gulls that cried overhead while they circled the small vessel proved to be good company. All in all, it couldn’t be a more perfect day.

_Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Well, the young man on laying deck mused, his mind still clouded with the remnants a nap that had been so rudely interrupted by the shrill cries of a den den mushi, it was _almost_ perfect. Pushing his hat away from his face, he had to squint as the bright light hit his eyes. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and was about to make the effort to heave himself up when the noise finally quieted. Sighing with relief, he let his head fall back against his crossed arms, stretching like a contented cat in the warm sun.

_Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

“Seriously?” he moaned. The thought of moving was most unappealing, but since the small snail showed no signs of shutting up and it was ruining the soothing sounds of the small waves lapping against the bow, the man pushed himself to his feet. A quick glance at the wheel and then the horizon showed exactly what he had expected. His rope contraption had held him on course while he napped, something he desperately longed to return to. Though that would not happen now, he knew as he scrubbed at his face with one gloved hand. The other reached out and lightly tapped the snail’s shell where sat atop the wheel, while he focused on suppressing a yawn as the call connected.

_“-completely selfish! He knows he needs to pick up when we call! It’s unbelievable. Oh, don’t tell me to calm down! What if we were under attack or something?”_

“Then I hope you’d be busy defending the place rather than calling me,” the man interrupted, leaning his weight against the railing, the wind whipping gently at his blond hair.

_“Sabo!”_

“Good morning, Koala,” Sabo greeted amicably, ignoring his friend and comrade’s annoyance with practiced ease.

_“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,”_ she hissed in reply.

“Is it? I hadn’t noticed,” he returned pleasantly.

_“Seriously, why don’t you answer your damn calls? I’ve been trying to get hold of you for the last half an hour! Didn’t you hear it ringing?”_

“Then I really hope Baltigo isn’t under attack because I think your skills could be better used elsewhere than in the call room,” he teased softly. There was a splutter of indignation from the other end of the line that only made Sabo chuckle. “I’m on my way back from Tequila Wolf. If the plan to raid it is still on, we’re going to have to re-think our strategy I’m afraid,” he said.

_“I’m not calling about your report – wait. Why? What did you find?”_ Sabo heard Koala hissing at Hack to hand her a quill and some parchment.

Sabo sighed heavily, frustration causing a frown to mar his face. “Because they’ve only gone and moved the slave village, haven’t they? They’ve made a lot of progress since our last scouts reported back. Although, after seven hundred years you’ve gotta wonder what the sudden rush is,” Sabo huffed.

Koala cursed quietly. _“Bunny Joe is not going to like that,”_ she said _. “We don’t have the time or resources to do another full reconnaissance. We’ll just have to hope his team will still be able to pull off the raid with what we already know.”_

“We’ve dealt with worse odds before,” Sabo shrugged. He trusted his fellow Revolutionaries would be more than capable of executing the plan to release the slaves. They had succeeded before on much less information. It would certainly make the mission more dangerous but every person working under the banner of the Revolutionary Army knew the risks from the moment they signed up. “I do have some good news, too, though” the blond offered with a grin.

_“Oh?”_

“Yeah, I found the most amazing restaurant while I was in East Blue. It’s called the Baratie and I think I can safely say it has some of the best food I’ve eaten in years!” he exclaimed, feeling his mouth begin to water at the memory of all the delicious plates of food the chefs had whipped up.

Koala snorted and Sabo could almost hear her rolling her eyes. _“Of course you’d think with your stomach,”_ she said, although her voice lacked any heat. _“But I hadn’t actually called you to discuss restaurants or collect your report, which, I might add, is late again.”_

It was Sabo’s turn to roll his eyes. “At least I actually gave you one this time! Take what you’re given already.”

_“Yes, I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies. Speaking of which, Sabo, Dragon-san is headed to Logue Town. He left early this morning.”_

Sabo blinked in surprise. Dragon was leader of the Revolutionary Army and possibly one of, if not the _most_ wanted man in the world. He hardly ever left their base at Baltigo anymore. As far as Sabo knew, he hadn’t left since Ivankov was imprisoned in Impel Down and Kuma had left them to join the Shichibukai, because if the Revolutionary Army were to lose another important figurehead, its continued existence would be jeopardised. Sabo had been a member since he was about ten years old and while he had recently been promoted to Chief of Staff and could assume command in the absence of Dragon as his second, there was still a lot that Dragon had yet to share even with Sabo surrounding the founding and causes that prompted Dragon to start the revolution in the first place. Dragon was cautious, although he did have his moments, and rarely shared everything with a single person, purely for their own safety should his confidant be captured or defect.

The wind suddenly rose up, sending a spray of seawater across the bow and shaking Sabo out of his surprise. Realising Koala was waiting for his response, he gave himself a mental shake. “Did he say why?” he asked curiously.

_“No. He announced this morning that he needed to see something and that he was going to Logue Town and left. Crow-san gave him a lift.”_ Sabo could hear his friend’s frustration. He did sympathise somewhat with her plight. It was bad enough the Chief of Staff had a bad habit of wandering off; she really didn’t need their leader to start doing the same. _“Dragon-san said he’d come back to Baltigo with you, since you’re going to have to pass by on your way back.”_

“Okay,” Sabo replied, quickly double checking the log pose sat by the wheel and doing a quick calculation in his head. “I’ll be there by tomorrow morning. I have a suitable vessel so there’s no need to send Crow-san back out to collect us.”

_“Great. Oh, and Sabo? Try not to cause any trouble! Remember you’re going to have Dragon-san with you and the last thing we need is -”_

“Yeah, yeah, I know. See you when we get back!” he called cheerfully.

_“Hey, wait! Don’t you hang u-”_

Sabo smirked as he disconnected the call. He would definitely be paying for that when he got back to Baltigo, but right then he had more important things to concern himself with. He dropped the snail into the pocket of his black coat that hung casually over one of the handles and deftly untied the rope locking the wheel in place. Double checking the log pose, he made a quick adjustment, setting his boat on a straighter course to Logue Town. Raising his head to the clear blue skies, Sabo grinned.

**xxx**

As always when he was lucky enough to pass through one of the most famous islands in the world, Sabo made a beeline for the execution platform. Ever since he had first seen it, his body still recovering from the explosion that had claimed his memories, and so nearly his life, Sabo had been inexplicably drawn to the platform. He hadn’t been able to understand the connection he felt to the name Gold Roger, although Dragon had been quick to correct him to the proper pronunciation of Gol. D Roger. The mere mention of the initial had been Sabo’s first spark of familiarity since he’d awoken on Dragon’s ship. But he hadn’t been able to remember anything to go with it. He could only guess he’d heard it before, but the lack of any memory had driven him to tears as he stared up at the towering platform, sending a few of the Revolutionaries who’d accompanied Dragon and Sabo ashore into a small panic. He had allowed them to usher him away from the square, his eyes burning and tender skin itching from his salty tears while he grieved for something he couldn’t remember.

There had been many other moments over the years that caused him to pause and try to force his brain to cooperate and unlock his memories, but none had been as strong as that first time at the steps of the execution platform in Logue Town.

A gust of wind whipped through the street, forcing Sabo to make a grab for his hat before it flew from his head. Turning into the wind, Sabo saw the clouds above beginning to group together. A storm was approaching. Frowning thoughtfully, Sabo turned back towards his destination, picking up the pace. He had time for a quick look before he had to find his leader.

He had expected the square to be mostly deserted. It certainly still held its appeal to the general tourist mass but the marine base stationed nearby did its job of keeping away pirates who would happily turn the execution platform into a shrine, so Sabo was more than a little surprised to see a large gathering in the square. He paused on the edge of the crowd, pulling his hat down securely to obscure his face. Although unlikely, he didn’t want to take the risk of someone recognising him.

“-ing on?”

“-marines should do something!”

“-platform-”

“Pirates!”

Sabo followed the excited gazes of the townsfolk. “What the hell?” he exclaimed, surprise causing the words to slip out. The Revolutionary could hardly believe what he was seeing. If it wasn’t for the fact it was currently being witnessed by the majority of Logue Town, he seriously would have thought he was imagining things. But no, atop the platform, as clear as day, two figures stood. Or rather, one stood, his coat billowing about him like a pair of wings. The second person, smaller and leaner was on his knees, clapped in the pillory. And looking remarkably calm considering his current predicament, Sabo noted, somewhat bemused.

Sabo turned his attention back to the man gallivanting around the platform like he owned it. Sabo sighed as recognition dawned on him. There was no mistaking that clown and his cohorts prancing around at the bottom of the wooden structure. They cackled gleefully and Sabo scowled when several cracks of gunfire erupted. The crowd around him began to shift, a low murmur of displeasure running through them all. Sabo hoped for the sake of the Buggy Pirates that they could control themselves enough to not send any shots directly into the crowds. The pirates’ actions had managed to bring the crowd to an almost dead silence though and while he watched the scene play out before them, Sabo was suddenly able to hear Buggy and his prisoner.

“Now,” Buggy stomped heavily on the young man’s head, grinning as he twirled his cutlass above the man’s unguarded neck. “Any last words? You have a big audience.” The man scowled. Buggy laughed heartily. “Ah well, never mind that. No one wants to hear it.”

“I AM…”

Sabo held his breath, unable to tear his gaze away from the young man staring down at them, a look of utmost seriousness on his face.

“-GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING!”

_“Are you gonna become pirates?! I’m gonna become one too!”_

Sabo staggered back, his ears ringing and head pounding. Desperately trying to clear his head of the declaration seemingly echoing in his head, he looked around desperately. He could have sworn that he had heard a child – a young boy, possibly – but there were none around him. Instead the only thing that could be heard was the crowd’s stunned murmurs.

Practically falling back against a wall in an effort to regain some equilibrium, Sabo almost missed the blurs of green and yellow fly straight past him.

“LUFFY!”

“Luffy, is it?” Sabo muttered, glancing at the man still stuck in the pillory and having an argument with a pair of older teenagers who had launched themselves at the Buggy Pirates. He took a single, unconscious step forward before another presence registered with him. He froze, distracted, a fleeting thought vanishing from his mind as quickly as it appeared. Frustrated, Sabo almost growled but he forced himself to block out the commotion unfolding around him.

He turned slowly towards one the buildings on the other side of the plaza. Concentrating hard, Sabo zeroed in on where the presence felt strongest. It wasn’t Dragon, he quickly concluded. Dragon liked high places he could use as an outlook but he rarely ventured inside if he could help it. Sensing the underlying hostility, Sabo could only think it was Captain Smoker, the marine in charge of the local outpost. And judging by the formidable aura that bounced off of Sabo’s own observation haki, he more than lived up to his reputation.

A flash of white in a first floor window drew his attention. A marine stood in the window, his gun trained on the arguing pirates down below him. Sabo cursed silently, inwardly furious that he had let himself get distracted enough to not even notice that the square had been surrounded. In nearly every window with a prominent view down onto the platform there stood a marine, poised to attack. He guessed by the fact they hadn’t made a move yet that their plan was to let the pirates destroy each other before rounding up the stragglers.

It was a smart move, Sabo admitted grudgingly. He supposed that Smoker had the docks on lockdown too. Sabo turned to the execution platform, strangely filled with regret at the thought of leaving, but he needed to find Dragon. He _should_ find Dragon. They had to leave before their presence was noted and it would be easier to do if everyone was still preoccupied. He stared at the dark-haired teenager thoughtfully. His declaration that he was going to be Pirate King was ballsy and might have caused a lot of people to snicker at his boldness and write it off as a joke, but Sabo strangely couldn’t help but think the kid had been deadly serious.

Sabo tried to shake himself out of his stupor. He couldn’t hang around all day watching pirates – for Luffy could only be a pirate if he was walking around making such statements – no matter how much he felt like he should stay, he had to find Dragon and he owed the kid nothing. His own discovery wasn’t worth lending his assistance to a pirate who was clearly so reckless he’d been caught before he could even enter the Grand Line. But he also found he couldn’t ignore the feeling he should be doing something. _Anything._

Torn, Sabo remained where he was until a rumble of thunder echoed overhead. Sabo felt the first splatters of rain hit the rim of his hat and freezing cold wind blew into the square from the side streets. A piercing crack followed by the sharp and distinct smell of sulfur rang out above the square. Sabo raised his face skywards, eyes widening in disbelief, and watched a ripple of lightning roll overheard. The thunder growled ominously and the rain began to pound the pavements. The crowd began to disperse, scattering in all directions as people ran for shelter from both the weather and the battling pirates.

“Zoro! Sanji!”

Sabo turned towards the platform, Luffy’s voice carrying surprisingly well considering the commotion going on around the square and he felt compelled to listen.

“Sorry. I’m dead!”

To the Revolutionary’s surprise, the pirate was grinning despite the sword poised to swing down to meet his neck. How could he smile, Sabo wondered, baffled beyond comprehension. No one smiled in the face of death. No one except one man.

Sabo had read several eyewitness reports of the Pirate King’s own execution. He had smiled. He didn’t have time to ponder the oddity, for in the next moment, Sabo, along with everyone else in the square, was forced to shield their eyes and cover their ears as a bolt of lightning struck the execution platform. Sabo ducked down to avoid the dust and debris flying from the site of impact.

A stunned stillness settled over the square, with no one even daring to move.

“Shishishi! That surprised me!”

“You and the rest of the world,” Sabo muttered, before the voice ripping through the silence registered. His head snapped up. To his utter amazement, Luffy was now stood against the backdrop of the destroyed platform. He patted at a straw hat with surprising care before slapping it onto his head, grin still fixed firmly in place.

“Do you believe in a higher power?” the blond in a black suit asked nonchalantly of his green-haired companion from not too far away.

“Don’t be ridiculous! We need to get out of here, Luffy.”

“Ah! Here they come!” Luffy shouted, bounding past the pair and towards the furthest exit of the square. Marines had started to flood out of the nearby buildings, shouting orders left and right and fighting their way through the still stunned crowd.

Sabo couldn’t help but smile as he watched the trio make their bid for freedom. Making a quick decision, the blond disappeared down the closest side alley, following the small group’s route to the docks on a parallel street.

Luffy was far too interesting, Sabo thought. He had better things to do than track the progress of a runaway pirate, but much like he hadn’t been able to leave the square, he felt obliged to see the pirate to the docks. He had no idea why. Sabo was pretty sure he had never heard of Luffy before that afternoon but the insistent tug of _something_ pushed Sabo onwards.

Twin shouts of surprise and dismay from the other street had Sabo springing to the roof.

“Seriously?” he muttered to himself, incredulous at the scene laid out below him.

Luffy, who only minutes before had miraculously managed to escape his own execution, was now sat pinned underneath none other than Captain Smoker himself. His thrashing limbs, that stretched far beyond all normal human proportions before snapping back like a rubber band, were stronger than they looked considering they were making cracks in the pavement beneath him, but they were utterly useless against Smoker. Luffy was clearly inexperienced fighting against logia type devil fruit users, despite obviously being a devil fruit user himself. It at least explained how the pirate had emerged unscathed from the lightning strike but Sabo still had to forcefully quash the worry that bizarrely bubbled up in his chest when he imagined the trouble Luffy could get into as a new rookie in the Grand Line.

Sabo couldn’t take his eyes away from the jitte in the marine’s hand, glistening in the pouring rain. If he squinted, he could almost picture another man standing over Luffy, who he imagined to be smaller and weaker, nothing like the man currently flailing about on the ground like a wild animal, and threatening him with a similar weapon. But that didn’t make any sense, Sabo thought, his mind racing a mile a minute. He had never _met_ Luffy, and certainly not as a child. Sabo had barely left Baltigo those first few years and Luffy didn’t look that much younger than him, so why would he picture such a thing?

“Looks like my run of bad luck is over,” Smoker smirked, raising his sword above his head. Sabo tensed, poised to jump down into the street when someone beat him to it.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly.”

Sabo jolted in surprise when he recognised the reassuringly familiar figure who’d caught the swinging blow. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that his first thought upon seeing his commander standing over the marine captain, his favourite hooded cloak shielding him from the downpour, was that Koala was going to kill him. Painfully and slowly. They were _definitely_ not laying low and were _definitely_ drawing attention to themselves.

Sabo was completely perplexed by this new turn of events. Dragon had done many things over the years that had stunned him, but this had to be one of the most surprising. The Revolutionaries very rarely involved themselves in the affairs of pirates. While Sabo was one of the worst culprits for involving himself in things that shouldn’t concern him or the Revolutionaries, Sabo couldn’t think of a single other incident that Dragon had revealed himself to a marine to save a pirate.

“What’s going on?! Who’s there?” Luffy continued to struggle fruitlessly underneath Smoker, who glared up at Dragon in pure disgust.

“You!” Smoker snarled, tensing like he was readying himself to pull his arm from Dragon’s grip.

“Us,” Dragon corrected idly, his gaze never leaving the marine but his words were clearly directed to Sabo.

Sabo sighed, absently already thinking of a thousand excuses to give to Koala even as he jumped down into the street himself. He walked slowly and steadily, arms loose at his side and pipe still hanging at his back. Dragon was making no move to outwardly attack Smoker, and Sabo would gladly follow his lead since he really had no idea what in the world Dragon was thinking.

Sabo walked confidently past the blond and green-haired men, both of them standing tense and unsure while the scene before them unfolded. They eyed him warily, but he ignored them, stopping only when Smoker sensed his approach and jerked his head towards him. Sabo nodded his greeting to Dragon.

Smoker huffed, his gaze darting between the two Revolutionaries he was now caught between. He rose steadily, finally allowing Luffy to push himself back to his feet, although he was nearly knocked clean over again when a huge gust of wind rattled down the street. He grasped protectively at his straw hat.

“Hey, Luffy! Let’s go!” the green-haired swordsman shouted, voice barely carrying over the wind, but clearly wanting to take advantage of their new opportunity for freedom. “Quit dragging your feet! There’s a storm coming! We’re going to get trapped here!”

“Right!” Luffy agreed. He sidestepped Smoker, who ignored him in favour of keeping Dragon in his line of sight. He cast one final glance at the pair facing off with one another, seemingly unconcerned about the storm gathering pace in the skies above them before he jogged away, far too slowly for his crewmates’ liking, if their urgent cries were anything to go by.

Sabo waited until the pirate was almost level with him before speaking quietly. “You might want to get a move on,” he encouraged, “The other marines won’t be far behind.”

Luffy’s head snapped to him and Sabo found himself pinned under one of the most inquisitive gazes he’d ever seen. Sabo was surprised to see Luffy falter momentarily, his eyes widening as he caught Sabo’s gaze, before he regained his momentum and barreled passed. Sabo watched the pirate’s progress down the street out the corner of his eye, and he only returned his attention to the two men left in the street once he was sure they had left, an odd compulsion to make sure they did actually get to safety filling him.

Sabo turned just in time to catch Dragon smirking ominously. Sabo mentally groaned and ducked quickly into a doorway, bracing himself against the force he knew was coming. He reached up to keep a tight grip on his hat when the strongest gust of wind yet swept down the street, sending small debris and litter swirling while doors and windows rattled in their frames. Sabo’s coat whipped at his knees for what seemed like hours but was actually no more than a minute before calm descended upon the town again.

When Sabo lifted his head, he was unsurprised to find that he was alone in the street. Taking the opportunity to disappear before Smoker returned to track them both down, Sabo emerged from his meagre shelter and took to the roofs once more.

It was easy to follow Dragon’s presence. He had been following in the man’s footsteps since he was about ten years old and it took him no time at all to locate his leader atop an old warehouse roof at the harbour.

Sabo didn’t bother to mask his approach and he drew to a halt beside the man. Dragon didn’t acknowledge him, his gaze fixed on something in the distance, bobbing up and down on the rough waves but making good progress away from the town despite the bad weather. Sabo squinted in the dim light and he was just able to make out the small vessel – a caravel, if Sabo wasn’t mistaken – that was captivating his leader. In the ferocious winds, Sabo could just make out a black flag snapping around.

“So us Revolutionaries are saving pirates now, are we?” Sabo enquired, voice bordering on teasing and conveniently ignoring the fact that he had almost stepped in to assist the same pirates himself before Dragon had saved him the trouble.

Dragon’s only response was to grin. Sabo felt his own grin falter and his brow knit in confusion. He had seen that grin once before today already and it hadn’t been from Dragon; it had been on the face of a young pirate caught atop the execution platform.

All at once, Sabo felt a bolt of understanding hit him. Familiarity, he thought, turning back to watch the ship heading towards the horizon and the Grand Line beyond. Familiarity is what he’d felt as he’d watched Luffy. He supposed he could be forgiven for not recognising the feeling before; very rarely did Sabo find anything outside of his tight knit life in the Revolutionaries familiar. He thought back to Luffy’s faltering when he had seen Sabo. He shook his head and smiled ruefully.

It was a shame, Sabo noted, drawing in a deep breath, that he and Luffy hadn’t been able to speak; that the circumstances had conspired against them. He had the feeling Luffy could be a pretty interesting person to know.

**xxx**

“That was a close one!”

“You don’t say, Shitty Cook.”

“Shut up, Marimo!”

“Then don’t state the obvious.”

“That reminded me of the time I had to escape a tornado! I was all alone when - _Ow_! Nami, why are you hitting me?!”

“We don’t need any of your wild tales right now.”

“Well there’s no need to hit me!”

Luffy wandered away from his squabbling crewmates and towards the railing, his eyes fixed firmly on the island they had barely managed to escape from. It had been fun, Luffy thought with a grin. Despite the almost execution and the disgusting smell of sulfur lingering on his clothes that the storm hadn’t managed to dampen, Luffy had enjoyed himself. He had only wanted to see the platform where the Pirate King – his brother’s father – had met his end. And where the legend of One Piece began. He’d had no idea that Buggy would’ve held such a grudge against him that he’d actually followed them. And his anger towards Shanks was funny; he’d have to ask the next time he saw the red-haired pirate if Buggy was actually telling the truth, because if that was how he’d eaten his devil fruit, it was funnier than Luffy’s own accidental ingestion! He was almost looking forward to the next time he met the clown; he was amusing.

And there had been that smoking marine, Luffy thought. He was drawing a blank on how he could possibly fight the guy when he couldn’t even touch him. Although, the man in the cloak who’d helped him had managed to grab him. That was certainly a mystery. And there had been the blond guy, too…

“Hey, Luffy, who was that guy?”

“Hm?” Luffy turned to Sanji who had somehow managed to light his cigarette despite the lashing rain still falling around them. “What guy?”

“The one in the top hat, with the goggles,” Sanji clarified, taking a drag. “You looked like you knew him.”

Luffy shook his head quickly. “No, I didn’t know any of those guys. That blond, he just looked like someone I used to know. That’s all.”

“You sure it wasn’t him?” Zoro asked quietly, and Luffy had the feeling he hadn’t quite been quick enough to hide the flash of pain in his eyes.

“That’s impossible,” he said simply. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, but he couldn’t see any more of Logue Town. He mentally shook himself, wondering what in the world Ace would say if he could see Luffy getting all mopey just because he’d seen someone who looked like their brother. He’d probably get Ace’s best imitation of Gramp’s fist of love.

Luffy snapped his attention back to his crew, who were all watching him curiously. He flashed them his widest smile.

“Let’s head to the Grand Line!”

He was met with a chorus of cheers.


	2. Introducing Ace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter! The response blew me away and I’m super excited you guys enjoyed it :D 
> 
> I’ve also decided that updates will be the last Saturday/Sunday of the month. This is primarily to give me time to stay ahead. If the posting schedule changes at all, it’ll be noted on my profile page for ease of reference. 
> 
> Right, enough of my rambles. Please enjoy!

**XXX**

**Chapter 2: Introducing Ace**

**XXX**

Sabo chuckled quietly and shook his head, almost fondly, before turning the page of the newspaper in front of him.

“Something amusing?”

He turned in his chair to find Koala stood in the doorway, her arms ladened with more newspapers to add to the growing piles steadily stacking up in his bedroom.

“Anywhere in particular you want these?” she asked. Sabo noticed her looking around impatiently, no doubt attempting to suss out where he wanted them put herself, knowing from experience that Sabo had some sort of system to the mounds of paper currently occupying his room. She’d tried numerous times in the years they’d known each other to guess the workings of Sabo’s organisational system, but to no avail. What Sabo had failed to tell her was that he periodically changed it up when it looked like she was coming close to cracking his current arrangement. He didn’t want her to get _bored,_ after all.

Sabo glanced around. “Just dump them on the bed,” he finally decided, waving a hand in its general direction. Koala huffed but dutifully began picking her way through the room, mindful not to step on the discarded pipe, hat, gloves and jacket Sabo had a habit of leaving on the floor. She dropped her bundle where indicated and immediately set about tidying the clothes.

“So, what was so funny?” she asked again, folding his jacket neatly over the back of his chair and taking the opportunity to peer over his shoulder at the article in front of him. “Is that _Arlong_?!” she shrieked right into his ear, causing him to flinch. “Sorry,” she said absently. She snatched up the paper eagerly and dropped onto the edge of Sabo’s bed to read. “Seriously, who are these people?” she wondered aloud.

“They’re reported as being called the Strawhat Pirates. And apparently they defeated Arlong and his crew,” Sabo said, spinning in his chair towards his friend.

“Impressive,” Koala muttered, before discarding the paper to one side. “So, did reading about this Strawhat Luffy guy spark anything?” she asked, somewhat tentatively.

Sabo sighed and scrubbed roughly at his eyes, which were beginning to itch and ache from all the reading he’d done in such a short period of time. “If by ‘spark’ you mean ‘have I remembered anything’, then no. Nothing at all,” he admitted, his shoulders slumping. He raised his head to see Koala biting her lip nervously. “What?”

“I’m just worried,” she finally admitted. “You’ve been trawling through all these newspapers since you got back in the hope that you might remember something. Sabo, you’ve not done this in years, why now?”

He glanced around his room and at the mess it had become. Koala was right, he hadn’t searched so meticulously for answers to his past since he was a child. Curiosity had compelled him for a while to find out all he could about where he might have come from. But the more he had learnt about Goa Kingdom, the less he had wanted to do with it and his time had gradually been occupied with more pressing tasks required by the Revolutionaries.

He shrugged helplessly. “I get what you’re saying, Koala, but there are some things I know even without any specific memory. I know that when I first woke up after the attack, I didn’t want to go back, I can only assume, to my parents. I know there’s something about Gol. D Roger that bugs me. And I know that this guy,” he picked up one of the wanted posters from his desk. “This grinning idiot here feels familiar. I can’t explain why and probably never will without my memories, and maybe looking through all these articles is useless, but I needed to do it.” _Even if it was fruitless,_ he thought privately.

Koala nodded and gestured to the papers scattered around them. “Did you want a hand?”

Sabo shook his head and rubbed at his left eye again. “No. He’s a rookie, there’s not that much out there on him right now. And I kind of get the impression that he’s the sort of person who makes the front pages,” he chuckled.

Koala snorted. “Yeah, he does, doesn’t he?” she agreed, staring down at the photo of Arlong beside her. “And hey, I bet you anything that you’ll get the answers you’re looking for in the place you’ll least expect it. Isn’t that how it always goes?”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said.

“Okay, what is wrong with your eye?” Koala suddenly burst out.

Sabo stared at her, startled. “What? My eye?”

“Yes, your eye. You’ve been scratching at it ever since I came in. Did you not notice?”

“No I haven’t,” he denied, frowning impatiently when he realised that by Koala drawing his attention to it, he suddenly couldn’t ignore how itchy and irritated it felt. He stubbornly kept his hands on his knees however, refusing to give Koala the satisfaction of knowing she was right.

It didn’t work though, and Koala snorted in a very unladylike fashion before rising to her feet. She gripped his chin tightly and tilted his head towards the light. She hummed thoughtfully while she examined the eye in question. Sabo shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He really hated it when people stared at the scarred side of his face. It made him feel very self-conscious and was in fact one of the reasons he’d let his hair grow out.

“It doesn’t look red,” she concluded. She released his chin and frowned down at him.

“I’m probably just tired then,” he said. “I have been reading a lot.”

“Possibly. What did the doctor say about it at your last checkup?”

“I haven’t had a checkup,” Sabo admitted with a shrug, and started stacking the newspapers scattered across into a slightly more orderly pile.

“Why not?” she demanded, one hand on her hip.

“I’ve told you before, Ivankov had to use his horu horu no mi ability to boost my chance of survival after the tenryuubito’s attack on my boat,” he said with a heavy sigh. “It’s probably the only reason I still have my sight in the first place, so I really doubt our doctors are going to be able to do anything if it _is_ getting worse. And besides, I have my observation haki. I don’t rely on my sight all that much in a fight these days anyway,” he added with a smirk.

“Well, even so, if it is getting worse, they need to know,” the brunette argued weakly.

“What’s getting worse?”

The pair both started and whipped towards the door, where they found Dragon, cloak discarded and smirking at the Chief of Staff and his partner’s surprised faces.

“What were you just saying about observation haki?” Koala sniped at Sabo, who shrugged off her glare.

“It’s Dragon,” he pointed out. “If he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s coming, they won’t.”

“Very true,” Dragon injected. “Now, what is getting worse? I certainly hope you’re not talking about the potential success of our raid on Tequila Wolf?” he enquired.

Koala quickly shook her head. “No. I mean, we’re still trying to work out the revised plans with the information that Sabo brought back, but there shouldn’t be any problems. Although, as we all guessed, Bunny Joe is not happy, but they’re going to do what they can.” Dragon nodded. “Actually, we were discussing Sabo’s eye.”

Dragon turned to him and Sabo gestured to his left eye, needlessly, since it was obvious which one was the culprit. “It’s a little irritated, that’s all,” he said.

“I assume that is a self-diagnosis,” Dragon quipped. Koala burst into laughter. Sabo scowled and childishly threw a newspaper at his friend, who batted it away easily. He knew his dodging of the infirmary was notorious – his colleagues had only ever managed to get him through the doors if he was actually unconscious – but the teasing was unnecessary. “Well, I may have a solution to the problem,” Dragon continued.

“Really?” Sabo asked.

“Do both of you recall Drum Island?” Dragon queried.

Sabo and Koala nodded in unison. “Yeah. It’s the winter island not too far into the Grand Line. It was ruled by the king, Wapol, up until about a year ago,” said the blond.

“Correct. And our scouts have just reported that Wapol has recently been sighted in the seas surrounding Drum Island,” Dragon informed them.

Sabo cursed. While Wapol might have been the king, he was also a tyrant. He had ruled with an iron fist over his country, creating laws left and right that had put the very lives of his people at risk before fleeing to the sea. The Revolutionaries had been monitoring the country for only a matter of months and were still in the midst of planning a preliminary investigation when the king had inexplicably fled. From the scarce accounts of the few traders the Revolutionaries had in their network, the country seemed to have had a problem with pirates, who, while doing the inhabitants a favour by scaring away their cowardly ruler, had also ransacked the entire country.

The Revolutionaries had considered offering their aid, but the inhabitants were still too distrustful of outsiders, and both Dragon and Sabo had believed they were best taking a step back to allow the country to heal as it would. But if Wapol was now back in the vicinity then Drum Island was under threat once more.

“I guess you want someone to verify the reports and prepare the islanders if it is true?” Sabo proposed.

Dragon nodded. “Yes. I had thought about sending Terry Gilteo, but Sabo, you can go instead.”

“Okay. When do I leave?” Sabo asked.

“As soon as possible,” Dragon confirmed. “You’ll have to go alone though. I’ll need Koala and Hack here to assist with the Tequila Raid plans.”

Koala looked between the two, confused. “How is this a solution to the problem with Sabo’s eye?” she asked curiously.

“Drum Island was once well known in the medical field, and I have it under good authority that a very prestigious doctor still resides there. Sabo can assess the situation with Wapol and at the same time he can seek out the doctor. You may have to do a little searching though. I hear she keeps to herself mostly,” Dragon grinned at him.

Sabo smirked. Very few of the associates Dragon had were ever easy to find.

“Is Crow-san available to take me, or am I taking one of the ships?” he questioned, pushing himself to his feet and quickly shrugging on his jacket. Koala flicked the lead pipe still resting on the floor, catching it with the tip of her boot and flipping it into the air towards the blond who caught it easily.

“I’ve ordered one of the smaller vessels be prepared,” said Dragon, stepping into the hall. “It will be ready within the hour.”

Sabo nodded, following his Dragon’s wake as they strode down the hall. He was surprised when the taller man waved Koala along down the corridor and she hurried past the pair dutifully, Sabo’s top hat in her grasp.

“I don’t expect you to give regular reports, Sabo,” Dragon started, and turning to the blond, who quickly took note of the seriousness of the older man’s tone. “This is as much a personal errand as it is a revolutionary one, and I expect you to do your best to find that doctor. I can’t have my best officer impaired in any way.”

Sabo nodded quickly. Despite the gruff words, he knew Dragon’s concern was as much personal as it was professional. It wasn’t common knowledge that Dragon had rescued Sabo, and it may have seemed like preferential treatment to anyone who wasn’t aware, but Dragon had taken an early interest in Sabo’s training and health primarily because Sabo had been so far ahead of his peers in terms of his skills and sheer strength. It was obvious Sabo had been well trained before he joined them, if somewhat crudely, and his strength definitely lay in the pipe resting on his back.

“That wasn’t permission to not give any reports, however,” Dragon added, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “We don’t want to give Koala an aneurysm, after all.”

Sabo laughed. “Got it. I’ll update you when I can.”

Dragon nodded once, and Sabo watched him disappear down the corridor. Unsurprisingly, within moments of his departure, Koala appeared at his elbow.

“That looked like a serious conversation. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” He turned to his friend, a devilish thought suddenly hitting him. “In fact, Dragon was just telling me I don’t need to make reports while I’m on the job.”

Koala stared at him dumbstruck, dismayed to such an extent that Sabo couldn’t help but laugh. She pouted. “He did _not_ say that!” she denied.

“Well, not exactly. I don’t need to make regular reports though, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for days a time,” he told her.

“No different to normal then,” she sighed wearily. “I will be checking to make sure you made it Drum, though. Don’t take detours like you did on the way back from Tequila Wolf,” she warned.

“Hey, that restaurant had some awesome food!” he said cheerfully. He bowed at the waist and peered up at her expectantly through the hair falling about his face. Koala rolled her eyes good naturedly and set his top hat on his blond curls. He adjusted it minutely before setting off at a brisk pace. “Speaking of which, come and help me raid the kitchens for my trip.”

“They’ll have stocked the ship with food already, you know.”

“I know, but it won’t last more than a couple of days and it’ll take at least four to get there from here. They never give me enough”.

“It’d be enough if you had a normal appetite!” she huffed, but hurried along after him, intent on making sure he didn’t take all their provisions with him.

**xxx**

There was an unnatural stillness about the bar; it was unnerving. It was past midday and the place should have been filled with hungry patrons enjoying their lunches, but it was practically empty. The few that had braved the stony silence had sequestered themselves into the darkest corners of the establishment, hoping they could avoid the attention of the lone man perched on a bar stool.

He’d arrived earlier that morning and slowly proceeded to eat his way through the bar’s entire menu. Twice over.

His desire for food finally seemed to have diminished, though, and he was currently sat pouring over a large travel-beaten map and muttering to himself.

The locals were used to unusual visitors; they lived close to the entrance of the Grand Line, after all. They saw all sorts. But rarely did they ever see a Whitebeard Pirate.

A fact Portgas D. Ace, also known as Fire Fist, was finding rather frustrating. The stares he could deal with. Rarely did he bother wearing a shirt and the Whitebeard mark did cover the majority of his back, so he was used to people gawking at him. But right then, it was just annoying that everyone had scattered as soon as he’d entered the bar. And hardly anyone had come in since he’d arrived. He guessed that rumors of one of Whitebeard’s own had sent the locals into hiding. Or rendered them mute, since even the few that had remained had steadfastly ignored any of his attempts to engage them in conversation.

Which was a shame, Ace thought, running a hand through and ruffling his black hair, because he could really have used some local knowledge right then.

He had been hot on the heels of a new sighting of Blackbeard and he was desperate to verify the information, but no one was talking.

Ace sighed heavily, his gaze flickering between the map in front of him and the log posse on his wrist.

“Ca-can I-I-I get y-you anything e-else?”

Ace raised his head, eyebrow raised at the barkeeper who had been a stuttering mess for hours now. He was honestly surprised the man hadn’t passed out or run away already.

Out the corner of one eye, Ace saw a large man in a chef’s hat, wooden spoon in hand, loitering in the back by the kitchen door and keeping a careful eye on the barkeeper and his proximity to the pirate. From their almost identical looks, Ace guessed they were brothers.

He turned his attention back to the barkeeper, smiling cheerfully and hoping to put the trembling man at ease. It didn’t work.

“I know I asked you already, but are you sure you haven’t heard of anyone called Blackbeard passing through here recently?” he asked, trying not to let his desperation and frustration show. “He might’ve called himself Marshall D. Teach?” The barkeeper shook his head so fast Ace thought he’d make himself sick. His shoulders slumped.

“This Teach guy a pirate?” Ace turned to the chef, who was eyeing him distrustfully. He nodded slowly. “Guessing he’s trouble?”

“Yeah, he is. Why?”

The chef shrugged. “Just heard that Drum Island had problems with pirates a while back. Might wanna head that way.”

“You couldn’t have told me that earlier?” Ace groaned, leaning over his map eagerly. He quickly found Drum Island, just over one hundred leagues north of his current location. “Drum, huh,” he wondered aloud. It seemed plausible that Blackbeard would have headed that direction. It was the next closest island in the chain, relatively small and out of the way, but not too far off the well traversed routes. Ace hadn’t been able to trace any permanent ship Blackbeard might be using, so he could only guess that Blackbeard was stealing whatever was available at the time.

Drum Island was a winter island, which wasn’t going to be a problem for Ace, but it usually meant the locals weren’t used to visitors, with not many folks too eager to bask in constant frigid temperatures. And if the locals had really had problems with pirates, then they might be even more cautious than normal, especially since Ace was a pirate himself.

It was like Luffy and mountain bandits, Ace thought, stuffing his map away into his bag. Luffy would probably always hold a grudge against them. Although, he suspected Dadan and her motley crew might have escaped his bias.

He grinned to himself at the thought of his little brother. He had seen some of the articles that had graced the newspapers recently and he was beyond proud that Luffy was already making a name for himself. Not that he had expected anything less; it was _Luffy_.

“Oh,” he suddenly paused at the door of the bar and turned to the two owners. “Thank you for the food. And the information,” he said, bowing politely before stepping out into the midday sun, adjusting his hat against the glare.

“Hey!”

Ace peered back through the doorway to see the chef angrily waving his spoon at him and his younger brother grasping the back of his apron in an attempt to stop him from launching himself over the bar.

“You haven’t paid! You’ve practically eaten all our stock! Where’s our money!”

Ace cocked his head, a small smile on his face and he shrugged non-committedly. He rarely carried beli on him even when he _did_ have any. When he’d been captain of the Spade Pirates, his crew had quickly learnt not to let him handle the finances, or it would all end up on food. He freely admitted he had gone a bit crazy when he’d first got his hands on some real gold; not the aged and tarnished kind him and Luffy had managed to scrounge from Grey Terminal, but instead the pure yellow from the books Sabo had shown them. His reputation for reckless spending had carried over to the Moby Dick and Marco purposely rationed his share of anything they were given. Ace would’ve been annoyed except for the fact that he had been able to commission his Striker at Water 7 with the savings, which led to him begrudgingly agreeing that Marco had had the right idea.

“Ni-chan! Stop, be quiet! He’s a Whitebeard Pirate! It’s doesn’t matter, we can re-stock and-”

“It does so matter! And I don’t care if he’s the damn Pirate King himself! He can pay us something!”

Ace couldn’t help but cringe at the man’s words. He really did hate when people mentioned himself and the Pirate King in the same sentence, no matter how small the comparison actually was.

“Well?” the chef snapped. “Where’s our money?”

“Sorry!” Ace shouted, abruptly turning on his heel and dashing down the street, infuriated cries echoing after him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the very persistent chef rushing after him, his brother hot on his heels and flanked by a few of the burlier patrons Ace hadn’t been able to make friends with.

“Damn!” he huffed. He really didn’t have time to mess around. Blackbeard was leagues ahead of him already.

He could easily have shot off a few bursts of flames as an incentive for them to back off, but they already seemed mistrustful of pirates and Ace really didn’t want to go around giving the Whitebeard Pirates a bad name by attacking them.

More shouts and pounding feet had him picking up the pace, his bag bouncing uncomfortably against his back.

“He’s running away! Bet that’s not a real tattoo!”

“Yeah! He’s gotta be a fake!”

“Coward!”

Ace practically growled but he didn’t slow down. Even a year ago, he would have stopped and laid into the small crowd chasing after him, just to prove a point that he was no fake. And while he still had quite the temper and would readily go after someone if they wronged anyone he cared about – Blackbeard being a prime example – he was slowly learning to let the personal attacks people spewed at him go. It wasn’t easy mind you, and Ace was not above shouting back his own insults.

And as he looked back over his shoulder to do just that, the perfect retort on the tip of his tongue, he missed the figure stepping out into the street.

The first Ace knew of the impending collision was when they went down in a tangle of limbs, the breath knocked out of the pair and a small cloud of dust erupting from the hard ground beneath them. Ace’s hat slipped from his head and fell against the nape of his neck. He barely registered a gloved hand crossing into his view to grasp a black top hat that had been knocked from its owner’s head before the sounds of the crowd began to bear down on them.

“Friends of yours?” the other man asked, far too cheerfully for someone who had literally just been run over in Ace’s opinion, but he wasn’t going to complain if it meant one less person was mad at him.

“Er, not exactly,” he answered, glancing over his shoulder and quickly righting his own hat. Without thinking, Ace hurriedly grabbed the arm of his unexpected speed bump and pulled the both of them to their feet, yanking the other man along behind him. He felt bad enough for possibly ruining what looked to be a somewhat expensive outfit (even with only a quick glance, Ace could see it was covered in street dust and grime) _without_ letting the man get run over a second time by an overly boisterous mob.

Ace felt the man twist in his grip. He fully expected him to pull back and demand an explanation for the sudden chaos he’d found himself in, but instead Ace only heard a deep chuckle and, to his utter surprise, the man put on a burst of speed so the pirate was no longer dragging him, but instead running alongside. Booted feet easily kept pace with Ace and tapped lightly on the cobbled street.

“Might I suggest, if you want to lose your friends, that you take the next left?” the man offered.

Ace frowned. “What’s left?”

“An escape route. Which we appear to be in need of,” he countered.

Ace didn’t have time to consider the consequences of the other’s proposal, not with the crowd gaining in speed and numbers, and he ducked left, his companion matching him perfectly.

The commander couldn’t help but grin widely. It had been a lonely couple of months out on the seas by himself with only the mostly cold trail of Blackbeard to follow. He knew he could’ve called any one of the Whitebeard Pirates or their allies and had their support on his hunt, and while he felt like finding Blackbeard and making him pay for what he had done to Thatch was his duty, Ace couldn’t deny that it was thrilling to have someone to keep him company on yet another crazy escape.

Ace let the other take the lead as the labyrinth of alleyways narrowed to the point where it became impossible to run side by side. The man must’ve known where he was going, though, because he led Ace with confidence through warren, never faltering as they jumped over trash bins and other debris. In fact, he was moving so fast, Ace could barely keep the ends of the long black coat in sight before it whipped around another bend.

With a small thrill of excitement, it reminded Ace of his childhood of running around Edge Town, one brother in front and another lagging behind; a trio of troublemakers looking for entertainment. He put on a burst of speed to keep his new companion in view.

“Where does this lead exactly?” Ace called, laughing at the crowd still valiantly trying to keep up with them, but only causing destruction as they attempted to cram too quickly into too tight a space.

“No idea!” came the cheerful reply.

Ace blinked in surprise.

“Did we lose them yet?”

He glanced back. There were still a few tails. He slowed slightly and released a small burst of fire from his left hand. He flicked the flames into the next bin they past, igniting the contents easily. A swift kick had the bin rattling down the alley behind them. He smirked, satisfied when the startled cries of their followers rose from behind them. He wasn’t worried about the fire spreading to any buildings; the fire would burn hot but slowly, and the locals had plenty of time to deal with it before it got anywhere near out of control.

“That’s a handy trick.”

Ace looked forward and was surprised to find the man loitering in the nearest shadow, the rim of his hat shielding his face. He’d have thought the man would’ve taken the opportunity to make an exit while he had the chance.

“Yeah, it has its perks,” Ace grinned, panting somewhat heavily. Running on a full stomach wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

He sensed the other return his grin before he disappeared around the corner. Ace hesitated for a moment before following swiftly. He really ought to apologise before they went their separate ways, Ace thought. The man didn’t seem at all put out by the fact he had been bowled over and chased across what felt like half the town, but surely he had had better things to do with his afternoon.

He found the man standing several feet away, patting at his jet black coat with a single gloved hand, the other holding lightly onto a top hat, his head bowed as he assessed the damage to his attire.

“Hey,” Ace started, bowing deeply but keeping one hand on his own hat to stop it from slipping. “I’m really sorry about running you over. And I didn’t mean to drag you into anything. I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

The other laughed, the noise making Ace’s stomach swoop uncomfortably. It was deep, but lighthearted. So much like…

“Don’t worry about it,” the man assured him, his clothes still rustling as he continued to clean himself off, and knocking Ace out of his thoughts. “It’s not the first time that trouble has quite literally run into me!”

Ace snorted, rising from his bow. He lifted his head, fully intending to agree with the other’s statement, when the air was completely knocked from his lungs for the second time that afternoon.

He was tall, Ace noted absently, probably taller than Ace, although not by much, and lean, not too dissimilar to Luffy in fact. But it was what was in the man’s hand that really captured the pirate’s attention. His gaze fixed on the top hat, Ace could only watch, dumbfounded, as its owner give the blue rimmed goggles a final swipe before it was lifted and set upon the man’s head, atop blond hair that curled softly around a pleasantly smiling face. It was misleading though, Ace noted, that smile. He had seen it before, he had watched it develop, in fact, from pure innocence into the powerfully deceptive weapon it had become. Even Dadan had stood no chance when faced with it and the demand for a place to stay.

Ace could feel himself starting to tremble. He couldn’t help it. Not when faced with such a sight. He silently begged, prayed, _pleaded_ that the man would raise his head. He needed to see. One thing would confirm the growing disbelief that the man in front of him was -

A pair of brilliant blue eyes suddenly fixed on him, staring at him with undisguised curiosity. The man cocked his head inquisitively, goggles flashing in the blazing sunshine. The rim of the top hat – _that top hat_ – tilted and the hair parted just enough for Ace to make out the reddened and scarred skin around the left eye.

“ _It was so sudden, I barely realised what had happened!_ ”

Ace choked, Dogra’s words from so long ago echoing straight from the past.

“Are you okay?”

Ace couldn’t deny it any longer. He couldn’t. It was the same voice. Deeper, richer but still distinctly…

“ _…Sabo?_ ”

**XXX**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Embers of History 
> 
> Yep, I’m cruel and ending it here. You should expect cliffhangers from me by now! 
> 
> I forgot to mention last post, the chapter titles aren’t mine either. I’ve ‘borrowed’ them from the English translation of the manga, so if you want hints as to what’s coming next, they’d be your clue :D 
> 
> Please remember to review! They feed the muse after all, and you’re all more than welcome to come poke me over on tumblr whenever you fancy!


	3. Embers of History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From last chapter’s reaction, I’m reading loud and clear that you guys aren’t fan of cliffhangers but I’m afraid you’re gonna have to get used to them! I need some sort of hook to keep you coming back for more! Once again though, thank you to everyone who reviewed! And as always, massive thank you to Mithril for beta’ing! :D

_“…Sabo?”_

The Revolutionary studied the man before him thoughtfully. Barely ten minutes ago, he had been happily walking around town, stretching his legs and restocking on food – he had _told_ Koala there wasn’t going to be enough for four days! – when he had been knocked clean off his feet. Following that had been a merry run around the back alleys in a bid to escape an angry mob that for _once_ he had not cause of. And, he had actually been having rather a pleasant time in the company of the very man who had run him over in the first place.

But now the man was deathly pale, making the dark freckles dusting his cheeks stand out even more, and he was staring at him like had just seen a ghost. And he knew Sabo’s name…

He had an inkling of who the man was from rumors but he was pretty certain they’d never crossed paths before. “I’m sorry, but have we met?” he asked, a little confused.

It was obviously the wrong thing to say. The man flushed angrily, broken out of his stupor by Sabo’s innocent question, and Sabo eyed him warily when flames slowly started licking at the balled up fists of the man’s hands.

“ _‘Have we met?’_ Are you _kidding_ me?!” The man advanced, getting right up in Sabo’s personal space. “Stop screwing around! Of course we’ve met before! How can you seriously ask me that?” he shouted, incredulous.

Sabo took a step back, swiftly putting a little more space towards them, and not because he was intimidated. No, he was rather more concerned that the man might forget himself in his anger and lose control of the fire dancing on his skin, and the sight alone was enough to make Sabo want to shudder, but he suppressed the instinct.

“Look,” he said, his voice taking on the best placating tone he could muster. “I’m really not screwing around. As far as I know, we just met. And I know I’m pretty good at offending people, but if I’ve already done so with you, then I just beat my own record,” he tried to grin, but the other wasn’t having any of it and scoffed, a deep scowl marring his face.

“Quit it! This isn’t a joking matter!”

“You’re right, it’s not. But I don’t appreciate being shouted at by a complete stranger!” Sabo snapped back, quickly losing his own temper. If Sabo ignored the running over part, they had both been quite cordial with each other, and he seriously had no idea what had turned the tide.

The man actually _snarled._ “I’m not a stranger! _We_ are not strangers!”

“Oh really? Because I have never met you before, although you’re obviously Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates judging by your tattoo and the devil fruit,” Sabo said, glancing back down to the man’s arms which were now completely ablaze. “Am I right?”

“Sabo!” Ace growled, and he lunged forward, making a wide, uncalculated swing at the blond, his bag dropping heavily to the floor.

“And another thing, how do you know my name?” Sabo wondered, dodging easily. “Are you sure that you have the right person?”

“Of course I’m sure!” Ace yelled, his fist connecting with the wall exactly where Sabo’s head had been only seconds before. “I’m not an idiot! I’d know you anywhere. You with your ridiculous goggles and that stupid napkin that you’re _still_ wearing!”

“Oi!” Sabo cried, rather offended. “At least I can dress myself properly! And it’s called a cravat!”

To Sabo’s confusion, Ace laughed, but it was by no means happy. Instead, it sounded rather hysterical, and he started shaking his head.

“I never knew you could be such a bastard, Sabo,” Ace ground out. “This isn’t funny anymore. Stop pretending like you don’t know me and tell me where the hell you’ve been for the last _ten_ _years!_ ”

Sabo frowned, and he could feel the frustration building within. He seriously had no idea what was happening. Or what the pirate meant. He was actually beginning to feel a little bad for the guy; he was obviously distressed and upset and Sabo had no idea how to handle him. Koala was much better at dealing with these situations than him. He sighed heavily, dodging another punch that went wide.

“What the hell are you playing at, Sabo? Be serious! Please! We thought you were - ”

“I _am_ being serious! I don’t know you!” Sabo declared. “If you wanna remind me, by all means go ahead, but I am telling the truth. I’ve never met any Whitebeard Pirates before!”

Ace glared at him, and it could’ve been Sabo’s imagination, but he was sure that the other’s eyes looked suspiciously damp. “Remind you?” Ace repeated through gritted teeth. He choked out another laugh. _“We’re brothers!_ I shouldn’t have to _remind_ you! _”_

Sabo froze. It felt like ice had settled in his blood. He couldn’t move at all. He barely reacted to Ace’s next blow, and it landed square on his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground for the second time that day. His hat tumbled from his head and rolled away merrily. He stared at Ace, wide-eyed and dazed in ways he hadn’t been in years.

He flinched when Ace’s fist swung towards his face, but it missed him by millimeters and slammed into the ground next to his head. He gasped when Ace grabbed his shirt and roughly yanked him up.

“You bastard! We mourned for you! How could you not contact us? Not even one damn letter! The whole town saw the attack, Sabo! You had to have known we’d hear what happened and you didn’t even think to let us know you were _still alive!_ ”

Sabo physically recoiled at the barrage of words Ace was throwing at him. He couldn’t comprehend anything he was hearing. His mind was still stuck on the word ‘brother’… The thought was foreign, especially since he had known – without a shadow of a doubt – that he hadn’t wanted to go back to wherever he had been escaping from when he’d been attacked. With childlike naivety, however, he had never even considered the possibility that there might’ve been someone left behind.

“I didn’t know,” he whispered. His mouth was dry and his skin felt clammy. He wasn’t sure if Ace’s shaking was resonating down to him but he was suddenly trembling uncontrollably. “I didn’t know. I don’t remember,” he repeated weakly.

Ace frowned and Sabo felt the grip loosen on his shirt.

“How can you not remember?” he demanded.

“I don’t remember. Anything!” Sabo exclaimed. He saw Ace’s shoulders slump in shock and he stared down at him in disbelief. He took the opportunity to push himself up, forcing Ace back in order to avoid another bump and he waved a hand at his face, indicating the scarring he usually tried to avoid acknowledging. “The injuries I sustained in the explosion included severe head trauma. I honestly can’t remember anything before I woke up in a sick bay with all my memories gone,” he explained. “I don’t know you - I don’t know anything about what we are to each other.”

Ace stared at him, horrified, for several tense seconds. He raised one hand and reached out towards Sabo’s face, but he quickly jerked back, just before his fingertips could make contact with the scarred skin when the blond flinched.

“Sorry!” he said hurriedly, obviously afraid he might have just overstepped some invisible boundary. He finally released Sabo’s shirt and staggered to his feet.

Cautiously, Sabo pushed himself up, watching Ace warily but not saying a word. He was more than a little concerned at how fast Ace seemed to be breathing and was worried he might start hyperventilating at any moment, but he had no idea what words would calm him down. He was a little afraid to make _any_ noise in case it broke the tenuous control the pirate was exhibiting.

“You really don’t have any memories? At all?” Ace asked, his voice filled with uncertainty. Sabo actually jumped - his voice had broken the harsh silence that had fallen around them. Ace was looking at him with such pain in his eyes that it made Sabo want to turn away so he didn’t have to see it anymore, but he swallowed his own guilt at causing such anguish and forced himself to hold Ace’s gaze.

“No. Listen, are you sure have the right Sabo?” he asked, hesitantly.

“That scar, it’s from the tenryuubito’s attack, right?”

Sabo slowly nodded. The small part of him, the more rational and logical part that had thought Ace might’ve been lying - that he might have been trying to lure him into a false sense of security - suddenly disappeared. There were only a handful who knew that it was a tenryuubito’s attack that had caused his injuries. He’d never lied about the reason he had lost his memories and how he had acquired such a horrific injury at such a young age, but he had never gone around advertising that it was at the hands of a tenryuubito, either. The fact that Ace apparently knew all about it forced Sabo to conclude that there was at least _some_ truth to the other man’s words.

But Ace wasn’t finished. “You were leaving Dawn Island. You set sail from the area known as Goa Kingdom. You were nearly eleven years old when you left. You are definitely Sabo,” he concluded, staring at him.

Sabo smiled weakly. “At least I know my name is actually Sabo now, I guess,” he said softly. Catching the confused frown on Ace’s face, he shrugged half-heartedly. “I told you, I have no memories. The only reason I go by Sabo at all is because it was written on a couple of possessions that were saved with me. They could’ve been something I’d stolen for all I knew.”

Ace snorted and shook his head weakly. A rueful smile broke out across his face.

“What’s so funny?” the blond wondered, puzzled at the sudden amusement coming from the man in front of him, when only seconds ago, he’d looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Ace gestured to Sabo. “Of all the ways I wished you would come back… _this_ wasn’t on the list,” he admitted.

“Sorry,” Sabo said, compelled to apologise.

Ace waved it off. “It’s not your fault,” he sighed, collapsing back against the wall heavily. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

Sabo picked up his top hat from where it lay and dusted it off again. He stared down at the goggles; one of three things that had been rescued with him. He had never really given it much thought before, but he had always found them constricting if they were worn around his neck, and his hat had seemed like the next logical place to keep them. He wondered if he’d worn them on a hat when he’d supposedly known Ace.

The sudden thought that he could actually _ask_ someone such a question about his past sent a thrill of pleasure through him. He had never had such an opportunity before and the feeling was nearly overwhelming. Despite the fact that he had never let himself dwell on what he was missing – his body either remembered it could do something, or it didn’t and Sabo had learnt anyway – having someone there, barely ten feet from him who was able to answer those questions and fill in a few gaps… it was exciting.

However, the most pressing question Sabo had on the tip of his tongue was a much more obvious one. He watched Ace run a shaky hand through his dark hair. The pirate caught his gaze and raised a questioning brow.

“What?”

“We don’t look anything alike,” Sabo noted. “How are we related to one another?”

“We’re brothers! Don’t tell me you have short term memory issues too?” Ace gawked, crossing his arms.

Sabo rolled his eyes. “No, just long term,” he retorted. “And I hear you, we’re brothers,” he tried to ignore the way he stumbled over the word, and not because it was foreign, but because it had a sense of rightness to it Sabo hadn’t expected. It was as daunting as it was exciting. There was a lot of responsibility that went with such a title and Sabo wondered whether he was up to the task. “What I meant was, we physically look nothing alike.”

“Oh,” Ace said, placated. “Have you ever heard that if people share a cup of sake they become brothers?”

“Sounds familiar,” said the blond. He couldn’t honestly imagine where in the world they would have heard such a story to entice them to perform such a ritual as children, though.

“Well, that’s what we did,” confirmed Ace. “We stole some sake and shared a drink. Then spent the rest of the afternoon being chased by Dadan for stealing her best bottle,” he added, a true smile finally gracing his face. Sabo grinned in response. “We were ten at the time. Nearly a year later, you were taken from us.”

“Taken?” Sabo enquired, deciding to ignore the use of plural when Ace spoke of their apparent brotherhood for the moment. He was far too interested in the surrounding circumstances.

Ace’s face darkened again. “Yeah. By your father,” he practically spat the word in disgust. “You had run away from home years before. You weren’t happy there, they treated you like an object. I think they even wanted to marry you off. But your father saw us in the streets one day and decided to take you back. You left us a letter. Obviously, you wrote it before you set sail,” he explained.

It was so strange, Sabo concluded. He hadn’t expected it to be. He had never really thought about what had driven him to leave. He was actually beginning to realise he hadn’t thought about a lot of things. He hadn’t let himself.

“What did the letter say?” Sabo asked nervously.

“Just that you were setting off earlier than we’d planned. We were going to wait until we were seventeen before we left. We wanted to be pirates,” Ace chuckled. Where his arms were crossed, somewhat protectively across his chest, Sabo saw one of Aces hands cover the tattoo on his arm. He frowned thoughtfully but didn’t press. Even when Ace’s hand dropped to reveal a crossed out ‘S’.

The muffled ringing of a den den mushi broke the silence of the alley. Ace looked around him, eyes falling on his discarded bag that was several feet away behind Sabo.

“Is that mine or yours?” he asked, eyes flickering between the bag and Sabo’s coat.

“Mine,” the blond replied, but made no move to answer it.

“Shouldn’t you get that? It might be important,” said Ace, and Sabo could see he looked rather amused. It was a much better look on him than the pained expression he’d worn earlier.

“No. It’ll only be someone making sure I reached Drum Island. And honestly, if I answered, they’d probably fall over from shock,” he added.

Ace snorted. “It did used to take ages to get your attention if you were focused on something.” He eyed Sabo somewhat shrewdly, and the Revolutionary saw a small but hesitant smirk break out. “Do you still have that habit of walking off by yourself?” he asked, teasingly.

“It’s not walking off!” Sabo denied, although he made a mental note to tell Koala that little fact. She was adamant that she was going to break him out of that ‘bad habit’ but if it was something he had been doing before he even joined the Revolutionary Army, then Sabo felt rather justified that it was something he could, and would, continue doing. “It’s not my fault if other people can’t keep up.”

Ace laughed, and the final tension that seem to hover over them like a cloud finally seemed to disperse. As Sabo stepped aside to let Ace collect his bag, he was struck with sudden nerves. He turned away to prevent the pirate from sensing his sudden trepidation. For only the second time in his life – that he remembered anyway – he had absolutely no idea where in the world he was meant to go from here. Did they now go their separate ways? Did they exchange contact information? What did they _do?_ He couldn’t lie to himself; the thought of them going their separate ways didn’t sit well Sabo. He wanted to get to know Ace, and he wasn’t so cruel as to deny letting Ace get to know him again. It was obvious their unexpected reunion had unsettled the pirate, whose eyes Sabo could feel boring into his back. Although, Sabo thought nervously, he had no idea who he had been as kid. What if Ace didn’t like who he had become?

“Hang on,” Ace’s voice cut through his thoughts and Sabo turned to him, carefully schooling his expression. “Did you say Drum Island?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, why?”

“That’s where I’m going,” he admitted.

Sabo blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

“What do you have to do there?”

Sabo hesitated, unsure of what he should tell Ace. He had sensed no fakery whatsoever in Ace’s voice or body language, and Sabo considered himself to be an excellent reader of both. He was of the firm opinion that no one, no matter how good an actor they were, could have faked the pure emotional display Ace had put on before. The rawness of his words and the few facts he had shared with Sabo had proved they had known each other to some extent at least, even if it turned out Ace had lied about their _actual_ relationship. Making a snap decision, and hoping he wouldn’t live to regret it, Sabo grinned.

“I’m a Revolutionary,” he said.

Ace’s eyes widened comically. “How’d that happen?” he wondered, once he had found his voice again.

Sabo shrugged. “They were the ones that saved me after the attack. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so they let me stay.”

“The Revolutionary Army was around Dawn Island ten years ago?” Ace asked, looking thoughtful. “Was Dragon with them?”

Sabo frowned. “You know Dragon?”

Ace shook his head quickly. “No, not personally, anyway. I just know a couple of people that do. They’re from Dawn Island as well.”

Sabo accepted the explanation. It would make sense as to why Dragon had decided to tag along. He had always wondered what had brought his leader to the island. It couldn’t just have been the presence of a tenryuubito, not when they had been at such a critical stage of the revolution within South Blue.

“So the Revolutionaries have business on Drum Island, then? Is trouble brewing?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out. Their former king, a tyrant of the worst kind, has been seen in the area again.” Ace nodded. “Why are you going to Drum?”

“Blackbeard,” Ace said, his tone gruff and his face taking on an ugly sneer that had Sabo frowning at the sudden change. “He was seen headed that way some time ago. I’m hoping the locals on Drum will be able to point me in his direction.”

“Blackbeard,” Sabo repeated, testing the name. It left a bad taste in his mouth. “Who is he?”

“A traitor,” Ace snapped, his gaze dark.

Sabo didn’t press him for further details. It was obviously a sensitive subject if the flash of grief that crossed Ace’s face was anything to go by – and Sabo rather loathed the fact that in the last hour he had become so familiar with seeing such a look on the Ace’s face. It didn’t suit him.

“Well,” Sabo started, smiling encouragingly. “Neither of us are going to get anywhere if we stand around here all day. Drum Island is only a day’s sailing away. Shall we get started?”

Ace stared at him, looking a little taken aback at the sudden invitation, but it soon gave way to a delighted grin.

“Hell yeah.”

**xxx**

Nearly a day later, the pair stared at the horizon where Drum Island, a mere speck in the distance, had finally emerged from the gloom of the early morning mist.

Ace was at the stern of Sabo’s small ship, re-lashing the striker to the larger vessel for what was easily the hundredth time since they’d left the backwater island where they’d inadvertently met. Sabo couldn’t begrudge Ace’s protectiveness. The striker was certainly ingenious and he could understand why Ace was so proud of it. The blond was rather hopeful that Ace might let him have a ride on it. It looked almost as much fun as the few wavers that the Revolutionaries procured whenever they fell from Skypiea.

Sabo grinned and shook his head when Ace’s curses reached his ears over the waves. He was rather amused by the language Ace used; he could put any sailor to shame. Ace had wholeheartedly blamed the bandits who had raised him when Sabo had pointed it out.

That had led to some interesting revelations. Sabo couldn’t imagine bandits raising an orphan and it was only on a little prodding that Ace had admitted it wasn’t voluntary on their part, but more coercion by his grandfather. Sabo rather hoped he didn’t meet Ace’s – and apparently _his_ – grandfather any time soon. A man who could convince bandits of all people to raise a baby sounded rather terrifying.

And once Ace had started, the dam spilt open and Sabo had learnt more about himself that he had ever dreamt possible. Ace had shared several stories about their first meetings and the beginnings of their friendship. He had also explained what he could about Sabo’s birth family, although the information was limited.

“You didn’t like to talk about them,” Ace had said. “In fact, I didn’t even know you had any until your father caught us in town that day. I didn’t push. You never asked about mine. I guessed it was only fair. I wish I had, though,” he’d admitted, and his eyes had flickered over Sabo’s scarred face again.

Sabo had a feeling there was a lot more to the story than Ace was letting on, but he hadn’t pressed.

“Is that it?” Ace asked, suddenly appearing at Sabo’s shoulder.

He nodded. “Yeah, should only be another hour or so.”

“Hm, we made good time,” Ace grinned. “I see your navigational skills are still as sharp as always.”

Sabo turned to him. “I could navigate as a kid?”

“Yeah. Most of it was all theory, though. You devoured every book you could get your hands on,” he replied. “I guess you didn’t remember any of that though, did you?” he asked hesitantly.

Sabo shrugged. “I had dozens of lessons with the other kids who had been saved by the Revolutionaries. I’ve no idea whether I remembered what I knew before, or if I just re-learnt it.”

Ace nodded. “Do you believe me?” he blurted out abruptly. He stared at Sabo worriedly.

“What do you mean, ‘believe you’?” the blond returned.

“Well, I’m not gonna lie, if someone ran into me and claimed I was their brother, I’d probably punch them,” the pirate admitted.

“You nearly punched me anyway,” Sabo reminded him.

Ace smiled sheepishly. “I don’t like surprises.”

“Obviously!”

“What I mean is, you’re taking this surprisingly well, all things considered. Do you really believe me? Or are have you just been humouring me?” he asked, a sour look crossing his face.

Sabo sighed and reached for the rope hanging from the wheel. He nimbly looped it over the spokes, locking the wheel in place and ensuring their course before turning to the pirate, who stood with his arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face. Sabo got the impression that the crossed arms and glare were more protective measures than because Ace was genuinely angry.

The question didn’t surprise him. He had the feeling that with every story Ace had told, he was omitting information. Sabo couldn’t quite grasp why, but the look of regret Ace had occasionally worn when he thought Sabo wasn’t looking had the blond wondering just what was being kept from him. He couldn’t deny it; he wanted to ask. After going so many years with nothing, to suddenly have possible answers in front of him was overwhelming. Sabo didn’t know where to start though, if he was honest with himself. He had always wanted to know more about his life before the Revolutionaries. How could he not? He wished he had stories to share like his colleagues did in their down time. The lucky few who hadn’t lost everything before joining even visited their loved ones occasionally. And those that weren’t so lucky - they at least had the memories. Sabo didn’t. He had been ‘Sabo the Revolutionary’ almost from the moment he awoke.

Back on that backwater island, before they’d first embarked, while he had waited patiently for Ace to collect his striker from her docking point and readied his own ship for their departure, Sabo had recalled when he had first heard of Fire Fist Ace. There had definitely been a feeling of _something_ when he had caught a glimpse of the wanted poster. But it had been fleeting, and as he rarely had any interactions with pirates, Sabo had dismissed it.

Now he was beginning to think it was because he had unconsciously recognised the pirate’s face. It was certainly happening a lot these days, that was for sure, Sabo mused.

He stared hard at Ace, who shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny, but refused to break Sabo’s gaze.

“I don’t _not_ believe you,” Sabo said, finally breaking eye contact.

Ace frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means, yes, I believe I was probably your brother. From what you’ve told me, my likes and dislikes don’t seem to have changed all that much. But honestly? I feel like we’re talking about someone else right now. I really can’t picture any of what you’re telling me.” He watched Ace’s shoulders slump.

“I guess that makes sense. If you don’t remember any of it, I guess it will feel like we’re talking about a stranger,” Ace said softly. “Is there any hope of your memories returning?”

He shrugged and leant back against the railing. “I don’t know. All the doctors I’ve seen over the years don’t seem to think they ever will. Not after this long. But then, I’ve never met anyone who could potentially jolt my memory before. I guess it’s not _impossible_ that you might make me remember something. I’ve never wished for my memories to return though,” he added sharply, dampening Ace’s emerging excitement. “I’d have gone crazy a long time ago if I dwelt on it all the time.”

The pirate looked at him thoughtfully. “Yeah, I suppose you would.”

Silence fell over them, and only the sound of the waves crashing against the bow could be heard. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the air about them felt heavy as they both processed each other’s words.

Sabo glanced at the approaching island, which loomed ever closer, and stepped back up to the wheel, taking control of the steering. His movements seemed to jolt Ace out of his thoughts because he quickly joined him at the wheel, his gray eyes focused on their destination.

“I never asked, but how long do you reckon you’ll need to be on Drum?”

Sabo hummed thoughtfully. “Well, you already know I need to warn the locals about Wapol. But whether or not they want my assistance with fortifying themselves against him, I have no idea. Our intel informs us they’re not too receptive to strangers. If they don’t, I’ll have more time to focus on the second objective.”

“Which is?” Ace asked, curiously.

“I need to find a doctor.”

“A doctor? Doesn’t the Revolutionary Army have any of their own?” he smirked.

“Of course we do,” Sabo retorted. “But this doctor is one Dragon recommend I see,” he explained.

“What?” Ace barked, surprising the blond, who glanced at him in concern.

“What?” he echoed.

“ _You_ need to see this doctor?” Ace asked, hand reaching out to grip tightly at Sabo’s coat and jerking his hand off the wheel. The blond was more than a little taken aback at the alarmed tone, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen someone turn so ashen. “What’s wrong with you?” Ace demanded, shaking Sabo’s arm.

“Nothing in particular, I just need to get my eyesight checked out,” he assured the pirate, trying to keep the wheel steady with one hand.

“Why?” Ace demanded again.

Sabo stared at him, puzzled. “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” When Ace frowned, he continued. “The explosion caused scarring, Ace,” he pointed out, pulling his arm free and gesturing to his face. “My sight was probably only saved thanks to a devil fruit user, but it might not be a permanent fix and Dragon wants another expert to check it out. That’s why he asked me to do this job; so I could find this doctor friend of his. It’s a hassle but I guess I see his point about not letting it get worse. It’s not exactly one hundred percent as it is.”

“Why not just get the devil fruit user to do…whatever the hell it was they did the last time?” asked Ace, brow furrowed.

“They’re not exactly accessible right now,” he smiled ruefully.

“Where are they?”

“Impel Down,” said Sabo, shortly.

“Ah. Yeah, I can see how that would be a little tricky,” Ace muttered. “Do you think you could…No, never mind, forget it,” he said, obviously embarrassed.

“No, go on. Could I what?” Sabo encouraged. Ace shook his head stubbornly. He rolled his eyes. “Ace, I’m not gonna be mad. You can ask me anything.”

“Really?” Ace spluttered, surprised by the other’s frankness.

“Sure,” he grinned. “And if you do somehow manage to offend me, I’ll just punch you,” he teased.

“You can try,” Ace smirked, waving his hand lazily as small flames licked at his skin. Sabo shook his head at the cocky display. “Okay, well, if I can ask anything… Would you be willing to speak to this doctor, if we can find them, and ask about your memories returning?”

The question caught Sabo off guard. After everything he had just told Ace, surely he must’ve guessed that he didn’t go around asking every doctor he came across if his memories would ever return.

Ace must’ve read something in his expression, because he hurried to elaborate. “I get you’re not bothered if they ever come back or not. I understand. Really, I do. But you’ve had _ten years_ to get used to the idea, Sabo, and you may have come to terms with the knowledge that they’re lost forever, but I haven’t,” he explained softly. “The thought that you don’t remember our tree house – our home – or the cliff where we used to hang out, or Dadan, or Dogra, hell even Gramps!” he exclaimed. “It’s not right, that we remember and you don’t. If this doctor is so special that Dragon told you to find them, they might have a solution. It’s not like you have anything to lose if they can’t do anything, so why not ask? I’d personally regret it if we didn’t. And I promised to live life without regrets,” he finished resolutely.

Sabo, who had listened quietly throughout the other’s tirade, shook his head almost despairingly. “I guess there’s no harm in asking. But don’t be surprised by the answer,” he warned.

Ace grinned brightly. “I promise I’ll accept any answer they give. And, if afterwards, you want to leave and never see me again, I’ll leave you alone,” he vowed.

Sabo raised an eyebrow. That, he hadn’t expected. “You’d let me go? Just like that?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I know you’re not actually dead now. It’s enough for me to know that you’re out there somewhere.” He suddenly smirked and it almost had Sabo wanting to take a step back. It was far too mischievous.

“What?” he asked slowly.

“Well, I might let you go, but when he finds out you’re alive, Luffy _definitely_ won’t!”

Sabo frowned. “Luffy?” He surely couldn’t be talking about…

Ace grinned proudly and reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar poster, almost crumpled beyond recognition.

“Sabo, meet your little brother.”

_“…What?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: You Have My Gratitude  
> Congratulations to the few who did manage to guess we were headed for Drum Island! And it’s by no means the only place they’re going but I won’t spoil it this far in advance ;D  
> Please remember to review, they feed the muse!


	4. You Have My Gratitude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: I'm sorry this is so late but RL has been kicking my butt recently. I've also been informed this last week by my manager that the team is going from a healthy number of seven down to four! As a result, the posting schedules gone out the window. I'll just have to update when I can as I can't make guarantees anymore.
> 
> Ok, rant over! A big thank you to Mithril for giving me permission to reference her fic Kyoudai in this chapter. If you haven't read that already, go do so because it's awesome :D

The silence that had fallen across the Going Merry, despite the lateness of the hour, was not a peaceful quiet. Instead, it was tense and uncomfortable, filled with the knowledge that they were against the clock.

Nami's illness had unsettled the entire crew. It had happened so fast and unexpectedly; none of them had been prepared for the eventuality that one of their crew might get sick. Injuries, they all expected on a daily basis. Illness, they did not. The medicine that Kaya had stocked the crew with way back in Syrup had disappeared alarmingly fast, leaving them with nothing that could help their ailing navigator.

Luffy sighed unhappily, his forehead resting on the kitchen table with his arms limp at his sides. He rolled his head to his left and glanced down to where Usopp was spread out on the bench next to him, sound asleep. Luffy was almost envious. He wished he could fall asleep, but a strange restless in his limbs that he usually attributed to wanting to beat something up kept him awake.

He sighed again and raised his head to see Sanji was still puttering about the stove, muttering quietly to himself occasionally. A glance through the porthole in the kitchen door showed the lone figure of Vivi, wrapped up in a blanket to ward off the night's chill at the insistence of the chef. The princess and former Baroque Works' agent had finally left her bedside vigil out of necessity to keep the Going Merry and her precious cargo on course. Next to Nami, she had the most navigational experience of them all and speed was of the essence.

Luffy had half a mind to find Zoro and spar; he desperately wanted to burn off some nervous energy, and he hated sitting around waiting. He didn't do waiting very well. But no doubt they would be told off for making too much noise and he suspected Zoro was, for once, actually using his turn on watch to actually _watch_ rather than sleep. They had been taking it in turns to stand in the crow's nest, their eyes peeled for any sign of a life on the calm ocean of the Grand Line. Another would sit for a stint in the dimly lit bedroom, keeping watch over their afflicted nakama, whose bouts of unconsciousness were increasing with every league they sailed.

Between the two of them, Sanji and Vivi had managed to rouse Nami long enough to force some much needed fluids into her, but with every passing hour, it was becoming harder and harder to wake her long enough for her to take the sips of water.

"Here," said Sanji, and despite the fact he had practically whispered, his voice cut through the silence and made Luffy jump. He turned to his chef and saw him holding out a steaming bowl of clear broth. "Take this downstairs to Nami's room while I take Vivi her portion. And don't you _dare_ even think about taking a single sip, Luffy!" the blond ordered.

"Fine," Luffy grumbled, accepting the bowl carefully and rising to his feet. He had just spent the last two hours watching Sanji meticulously prepare the broth; he had seen exactly how much attention he had put into preparing Nami's food. Luffy wouldn't dream of ruining the effort if it made her better.

"When you get back, I'll have the leftover meat from lunch ready for you," Sanji promised in return for his captain's cooperation. "Just don't spill that!"

Luffy shook his head wildly and hurried down the stairs to Nami's cabin, carrying his cargo as carefully as he could. He picked his way across the darkened room as best he could, trying not to trip on the rugs, and set the bowl on the bedside table.

Despite the promise of meat waiting for him back upstairs, Luffy paused and stared down at his navigator. They hadn't known each other long, but even he could tell after a few short months that to see the fiery young woman so still was unnatural. She should be up and about, and bossing them all over the place; she should be complaining they're not lashing the sails correctly, or that port is left, not right, and how could they call themselves pirates if they didn't know that?

Luffy stood and listened to his nakama's harsh and laboured breathing. Her cheeks were flushed a brilliant red that clashed horribly with her hair. With the same amount of care he usually only showed towards his precious straw hat, Luffy reached out and gently laid a hand against her cloth-covered forehead. He frowned at the dryness of it and concluded it needed changing. He knew Sanji would probably take care of it when he came down to feed her the broth, but Luffy had been feeling pretty useless all day, and Sanji was exhausted, they all were, so he could at least do this small task.

He glanced quickly around the room and spotted a bowl of water on the desk. He delicately peeled the cloth away from Nami's sweaty forehead, relieved when she didn't stir, and crossed the room to dip the cloth in the tepid water. As he picked up the now soaked cloth, he suddenly flashed back to the last time he had done this.

" _Luffy, were you pouring water or something on him?"_

" _No, I was putting the cloth on his forehead like you told me to."_

" _You're supposed to get the cloth wet, wring it out,_ _then_ _put it on his forehead. You don't want to just drop a wet rag on his face."_

Luffy smiled to himself, Ace's voice echoing at him from the past. He remembered the time Sabo had been sick. He'd picked up a virus, from Ace of all people, and Luffy had been put in charge of looking after his blond brother for the day while Ace had sought help from Makino. It had been a daunting task, making sure that their treehouse was defended from potential dangers and that Sabo had been comfortable at all times. Of course, he hadn't realised that he had been practically drowning his brother in water until Ace had pointed out the correct way to use the dampened cloth.

Shaking himself out the memory, Luffy made sure to wring the cloth thoroughly before he crossed back to Nami's bedside. He laid it carefully across her forehead, brushing a few errant strands of hair from her face before stepping back and admiring his work. He was pleased to see that it seemed to bring some comfort to Nami almost immediately.

"What are you doing?"

Luffy turned to see Sanji standing at the bottom of the stairs, his gaze flickering between Luffy and the bowl of water on the desk. Luffy wondered how long he had been stood watching him.

"I was just changing the cloth," he explained, stepping back and allowing Sanji to take his place. The chef inspected his captain's work, and Luffy saw a flicker of surprise cross his face.

"Huh. You actually did it right," he said in disbelief, but the dark-haired teen also detected a hint of gratitude. He looked down at Luffy curiously. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

Luffy just grinned and bolted from the room, ignoring the question completely. He bounced towards the kitchen, the smell of warmed meat driving him on. As he flopped down onto the bench, jolting Usopp from his restless sleep, he mused that it was a shame Dadan's relative, Nadan, wasn't around. Sabo had gotten better almost immediately in the weird guy's care. He figured Nami would too, but they'd all travelled too far to turn back. Now, they could only hope that a doctor would appear ahead of them.

**xxx**

Sabo guided his small vessel down the narrow river way, grateful that he had done the task so often that he could let his mind wander freely while his body worked on autopilot.

Brothers. Brothers _plural_ , he thought, still in a state of disbelief. Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy. Sabo shook his head. To say that the last twenty-four hours had been surprising would be a massive understatement. He had hardly been able to believe his eyes when Ace had waved about the very same wanted poster he had spent hours examining.

He felt a little guilty at his initial outburst seconds after Ace had revealed who the pirate was. Ace had been elated to hear that Sabo knew Luffy, until he revealed the reason was that they had briefly met in Logue Town. The other's disappointment had been clearly evident in the way his whole body seemed to slump. He had picked himself up pretty quickly though, and had proceeded to badger Sabo for all the details about their little brother. Sabo had been only too happy to oblige, eager to know more about the pirate that had captured his attention and interest.

" _He what?!" Ace had shouted upon hearing about Luffy's escapade on the execution platform. "How'd he get out of that?"_

_Sabo chucked. "A lightning strike hit the stand and destroyed it. It practically fried Buggy but Luffy brushed it off like it was nothing. He just stood up in the middle of the wreckage and said 'that was lucky'!"_

" _The execution platform was destroyed?" Ace had asked, a strange expression briefly crossing his face. Sabo had nodded. "Good. Remind me to thank Luffy when I see him."_

The cabin door clattered open, dragging Sabo back to the present, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Ace step out into the weak winter sunlight. He had thrown on a long black trench coat and was lazily buttoning up the front.

Ace caught his inquisitive gaze and grinned. "I figured I'd best cover up the tattoo. The information I got about this place is that they've had problems with pirates recently. They might be more willing to share if they don't know _I'm_ one," he explained.

"Good thinking. Plus, they'd probably think it weird you didn't seem bothered by the cold," he added, as a chilly gust of wind rattled the ship's sails. "Although, considering it's a winter island, I thought we'd see a bit more snow," he mused, glancing up at the surprisingly clear skies.

Ace laughed. "Sorry, that's probably my fault. It never snows around me anymore. Luffy would be disappointed if he ever found out, he loves the stuff," he grinned.

Sabo nodded. "Well, you've done us a favour, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, now we won't have to pretend not to see the locals who are approaching us," he said, discreetly glancing up and to the left, towards the riverbank that towered over them where he could sense people approaching.

Ace followed his gaze and caught sight of a man ducking for cover in the tree line. He grinned. "Guess we don't."

"Pirates!"

The two turned to the other bank and towards the voice. An imposing man with slicked black hair stared down at them, his deep green tunic and armor-plated arms standing out sharply against the backdrop of fluffy white snow. He was flanked by several others, and each one had their weapons trained on the pair. Sabo eyed the weaponry with an expert eye and was a little dismayed at the wear everything showed. If it wasn't dented, it was blunted.

"Pirates! I ask that you depart peacefully, immediately!" the man ordered, arms crossed. The command was backed up by the sound of dozens of rifles being cocked.

If it had been anyone other than the two stood quietly on deck, it might have been an imposing display of strength, but as their boat drifted in the current, Sabo could see the faces of the men were either very old, or very young. Besides the man staring them down, there were very few able-bodied men amongst them. And despite the heavy winter gear they were wearing to protect them from the harsh elements, out the corner of his eye, he could see many were trembling.

Sabo cast Ace a quick glance and saw he had also noticed the naked fear on the men's faces.

The blond sighed and stepped forward slowly. "We can't leave yet, I'm afraid. We have business to attend to here," he explained. He didn't miss how nearly all the men glanced to the large man in green to gauge his reaction. He was obviously the current appointed leader.

"We don't do business with pirates. And yes, we know you're pirates. The man behind you is Fire Fist Ace, is he not?" the man gestured.

"Damn," Ace cursed, although he smiled pleasantly. "Guess the coat was pointless?"

Sabo silently cursed the fact that Ace was so well known. He didn't usually work with people who were so easily recognisable at first sight. Protection of one's identity was key in the Revolutionary Army and it was imperative to be careful of who knew such information. If the marines were ever able to put a name to a face, stealth work was out of the question. It had actually been Ivankov's downfall, to become so well known.

"I'll ask again, please leave our island quietly and no one will come to harm," the man repeated firmly.

"Look, yes, Ace is obviously a pirate, but I promise you, we're not here to cause trouble. I'm actually hoping to _prevent_ any trouble," said Sabo. "I have some information for you."

"We're not interested in whatever it is you have to share."

"It's about Wapol," Sabo informed them.

The men's reactions were instantaneous, with dozens of voices shouting "Spies!" and others crying from pure dread. Panic quickly set in, which hadn't been Sabo's intention, but at least he had the men's attention now.

"We're not with the tyrant," said the blond, raising his voice slightly so that the leader, who had notably paled at Sabo's revelation, could hear him. The leader appeared to remain steadfast in the wake of his men's near hysteria but Sabo could see the unspoken fear in his eyes. "My name's Sabo. I'm a Revolutionary. If you'll let us dock the ship, I'll tell you everything we know about Wapol's recent activities. And in return, we're hoping you might be able to assist us," he admitted hopefully.

The man considered the request. "What do you need our assistance for?"

"I need to seek out a doctor, and Ace needs help finding someone who might have passed through recently."

"A pirate and a Revolutionary," the man muttered, ignoring Sabo's words. The blond got the impression he was buying time to weigh up the pros and cons of letting them ashore. "You certainly make an odd pair."

"We're brothers," Ace supplied, helpfully.

The man frowned, his eyes jumping from one to the other, likely cataloging the obvious differences between them. "You certainly don't look like brothers."

"So?" the pirate asked, shrugging nonchalantly.

The man sighed heavily and finally dropped his arms, uncovering his broad chest for the first time.

"Dalton?" one of the men muttered, stepping forward. "What do you want us to do?"

There was a tense pause before the man, Dalton, waved at the few who had managed to keep their composure and weapons trained on the ship below, to lower their guard. They all fell back immediately.

"Let them dock. We'll take them into the village. Two of you run back and prepare everyone and tell them not to worry," Dalton ordered. Two young lads took off immediately. "If your information is useful, I will consider your request for our assistance."

Sabo and Ace shared a glance before the pair nodded amicably. It was the best they could hope for, given the current circumstances. Sabo wasn't about to withhold information that might very well save the islander's lives if they didn't feel like returning the favour. Besides, it wouldn't be too much trouble to make it seem like they'd left the island and return using Ace's striker to look for the information they both needed.

"Is this a good idea?" another man asked, worriedly glancing their way.

Dalton sighed again. "I'd be a fool not to listen to what they have to say, especially if it concerns Wapol."

"Spoken like a true leader," said Sabo.

**xxx**

Sabo took another sip of the tea, letting it soothe his throat which had started to go croaky from sharing all the information the revolutionary's sources had managed to uncover with the large man sat opposite of him.

Sabo had been discreetly watching Dalton out the corner of his eye for several minutes now, as the man digested all he could. He had been naturally alarmed to learn Wapol had been sighted so close to the vicinity of Drum Island, but Sabo could tell the man had once been military because he didn't let his emotions run away from himself.

Instead, he had, as bargained for on the shoreline, provided them with the information they had asked for in return.

There was indeed a renowned doctor still on the island, although where she was at any given day depended greatly on her mood and generosity. The locals referred to her primarily as the Witch and feared her greatly. Sabo wasn't worried; he had hunted down bigger quarry on much larger islands than Drum, after all.

However, it was the confirmation that the island had indeed had recent problems with pirates that had led to the biggest trouble of all, Sabo thought, glancing to his left to where Ace sat beside him, also silent and apparently lost in his thoughts.

Ace had been furious as he listened to Dalton's tale of death and destruction at the hands of a small group of pirates. His body had practically vibrated with undisguised rage. If Sabo hadn't already witnessed firsthand the control Ace had over his devil fruit when he was upset, he probably would have been as concerned as Dalton had looked when the flames had started to jump from his body.

Sabo had been disgusted that the ones calling themselves the Blackbeard Pirates had stooped as low as to attack unprovoked. The island and its people, already weakened by the tyranny of its former King, had really stood no chance at all at defending itself.

Sabo sighed unhappily, setting his teacup down on the table between them, the clank of china on wood rousing both men from their thoughts.

"And you say this all happened months ago?" the dark-haired man asked, quietly.

Dalton nodded. "Yes, I know the damage still looks relatively recent though. Being a winter island, we've struggled to rebuild quickly, you see. We need the wood resources for fuel, so progress has been slow."

Sabo followed the man's gaze out the window and towards a house across the street which still had its roof missing. He turned back to Dalton. "The Revolutionary Army can help you with resources if you want them. We can easily have a few shiploads of timber ferried out to you," he offered.

"Thank you, I shall consider the offer," Dalton replied softly.

"Are you sure Blackbeard wasn't looking for anything in particular?" Ace asked, also staring at the wrecked house. "No offence, but this place is pretty out of the way. I don't get why he'd come this far out."

Dalton shook his head. "True, we don't get many visitors. But no, they didn't appear to want anything but to cause destruction and mayhem. We tried reasoning with them and they laughed at us. We tried bargaining with them and they mocked us. Nothing we had interested them in the slightest."

Sabo saw Ace clench his fists tightly where they rested on his thighs.

"If I may, why are you following this man? Surely it would be best to leave him for the marines to deal with?"

Ace met the man's curious gaze. "He was a Whitebeard Pirate," he admitted. Dalton's eyes widened in surprise. "That devil fruit you probably saw him using… He killed one of our crewmates to get it. Then he quite literally jumped ship."

Sabo grimaced. He didn't generally keep up with the world of piracy, but even he knew the Whitebeard Pirates' reputation for being a family. For a crewmate to turn around and disregard the values that held the very fleet together would have been a hard thing to comprehend. Add in the fact that a friend who was obviously dear to Ace had lost his life, and it was no wonder he was so set about finding the traitor.

"So, he hadn't had his devil fruit for long, then, when he arrived here," Dalton concluded. Ace shook his head. "Well, that explains a few things."

"What?" Ace pressed.

Dalton grimaced. "Well, it looked to me like those pirates were stretching their legs, so to speak," he said.

Sabo and Ace both frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean?" the blond wondered.

"I mean, I've been training people on and off for years now and I know a practice run when I see one," Dalton explained. "It definitely seemed like they were testing themselves. Especially that big guy the other three followed. You know what it's like," he said, nodding to Ace. "Those first few months after you eat a devil fruit. It's like your skin doesn't quite fit anymore. You've got to learn what your body is capable of all over again."

"Are you saying," Sabo said slowly, "that it looked like Blackbeard was using this place to _train?_ "

Dalton nodded. Ace stood up swiftly, knocking his chair to the floor. He ignored both it and the other two's startled gazes, instead making a beeline straight for the door. The couple of men posted outside both jumped when Ace threw it open with a loud bang and stomped away, leaving the door to bang weakly in the frigid wind.

"Should we go after him?" Dalton asked, hesitantly.

Sabo quickly shook his head, his instincts screaming at him to let Ace go for the time being. "No, he won't go far and it's probably best to let him cool off," he said, absently reaching for Ace's fallen chair and correcting it. "I'll go find him in a little while."

**xxx**

Ace carefully picked his way through one of the still-wrecked houses. He was a little ashamed of running out and leaving Sabo to pick up after him, but he had needed some fresh air. He had hardly been able to breathe as he had listened to Dalton's story. He had been chasing Blackbeard for a long time, trying to retrace his steps after he fled from the Moby Dick, but before today, the trail had always led him to larger islands, places Blackbeard could blend in easily with his small band of followers. He had never seen them leave such devastation in their wake before. Yes, there had been the odd destroyed or stolen ship - the expected confrontations with other pirates that crossed paths with them - but never had Ace seen them outright destroy entire villages.

It was heartbreaking what these people had suffered at the hands of both their King and Blackbeard, he thought, his boot crunching on an old and broken photo frame. The picture within was missing, but hopefully it had been recovered by the former inhabitants as they scrambled to save all they could from their ruined home.

Ace crouched down, mindful of the broken glass and shattered wood scattered about him, and carefully pulled a plank of what looked to have once been a floor panel, possibly from the ruined ceiling above him. He examined it, running a finger along the broken end. Whilst it was certainly a jagged break, it was clean, like it had been snapped sharply in two. Shaking his head ruefully, he tossed the plank to the ground and rose to his feet.

"It's not your fault, you know. What happened here."

Ace closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath, resolutely keeping his back to his brother. It seemed Sabo hadn't lost any of his ability to see straight through Ace and deduce exactly what he was thinking.

"Isn't it?" he asked weakly. The sharp sting of tears threatened to overwhelm him, but he choked them down. "Blackbeard was in my division. I'm the one who isn't able to catch up to him to stop this kind of thing from happening!"

"Ace," Sabo said firmly, in a tone the pirate had usually associated with being spoken to Luffy. "From what you said, no one could've predicted any of this. Not your friend finding that devil fruit, and not Blackbeard wanting it. And _certainly_ not what he would do to get his hands on it."

"Maybe not," Ace agreed reluctantly, finally turning to the blond. "But that doesn't mean it's not my responsibility."

He gave the house one final cursory look before slowly making his way back towards his brother. As he approached, he could see the deep green of Dalton's tunic in the distance. It wasn't at all surprising that they weren't going to be left completely alone until they departed the village, but Ace was grateful to the man for at least giving them the illusion of privacy.

Sabo offered Ace an encouraging smile as he stepped onto the solid ground beside him. Ace was suddenly struck with an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. It was the same tentative but welcoming smile that Sabo had shown him when they'd first met all those years ago, two filthy strays standing small but proud amongst the garbage of a fetid city. Still unable to believe he was seeing that smile and face again after thinking it was lost forever, Ace clapped his brother's shoulder, squeezing it lightly in silent thanks. He was more grateful than he could express with words that he hadn't had to face this reality alone.

"Dalton doesn't know which direction Blackbeard went, unfortunately," said Sabo, as the two slowly meandered back towards their host, who seemed to be conferring with a couple of messengers.

"No surprise there," replied Ace, shrugging. Drum Island was close to the entrance of the Grand Line and he already knew from his quick visit to Little Garden that Blackbeard hadn't backtracked to the Red Line. He had a few ideas in mind as to where he could look next. He chanced a look at the tall blond walking in sync next to him and wondered whether he could persuade his brother to travel with him a little further. He had no idea where the Revolutionary Army's headquarters was located, or what Sabo had planned after finding the island's doctor, but he hoped they were headed in the same direction, at least for a little while. He hadn't let himself feel the loss of Sabo's steadfast presence after the initial shock and grief had worn off, but now that he was back, Ace was beginning to realize just how much he had missed it.

He honestly felt like a bundle of mixed emotions. He was ecstatic that Sabo was alive, upset, and, if he was completely honest with himself, a little hurt that Sabo didn't remember either of his brothers. He was also angry and frustrated that he was getting nowhere in his hunt for Blackbeard. It was exhausting, Ace thought. The last time he had felt so unsettled was when he had been offered a home aboard the Moby Dick, despite repeated attempts on the captain's life.

"So, you have any idea who else Blackbeard might have had with him?" Sabo enquired curiously. "From all accounts, this couldn't have been done by only one man."

"No one else has left the Moby Dick, so I think he was acting alone while he was part of the crew, but he was a loner. Used to disappear off by himself for weeks at a time. No one was concerned, though. We all take time off when we want to. There's no rule that says we have to stay, and since most of us had our own crews before we joined, it's pretty common for whole divisions to be away at a time. He definitely has some guy called Jesus Burgess with him right now; I think he's known him a while. They met up really quickly after Teach defected. He's pretty strong and I reckon it was him who practically ripped that house back there apart," Ace explained. Sabo's jaw clenched and his gaze darted back to the house in question. "One of the last places I tracked him down to, the locals swore there must have been a sniper too, but they never saw him. Instead, they only found the odd body that'd been shot," his sighed.

"Okay, well that's three we know of for definite," the blond summarised.

Ace had to his smile at Sabo's use of the word 'we'. He still had some doubts as to whether Sabo really did believe his story; it probably hadn't occurred to the blond that Ace knew exactly how he acted when he was proceeding with caution, and he was currently behaving exactly the same at twenty as he had at five when they'd first met. The biggest clue that he was gradually warming up to the pirate though, was the use of plurals. It had surprised Ace the first time Sabo had referred to them as 'we', or 'us', but he had quickly warmed to it. It had been exhilarating, to feel such unity with another person after spending years in the company of bandits who were more fearful of a child than any person who called themselves a 'bandit' should be.

"Hey, you never said," Sabo observed, and Ace walked several more paces before he realised the blond had stopped.

"What?" he asked with a frown.

Sabo's brow was furrowed. "What devil fruit does Blackbeard actually have?"

Ace realised with a jolt that he hadn't. "Oh, it's called the yami yami no mi," he said, the very name leaving a bad taste in his mouth. He was surprised to see Sabo pale alarmingly.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice almost inaudible across the short distance between them.

"Yeah," the pirate replied. "I guess you've heard of it?" It wouldn't surprise Ace if his brother had; Thatch had certainly seemed confident in exactly which devil fruit he'd found when he had proudly shown it off.

"Oh, I've heard of it, alright," Sabo admitted, crossing his arms. "And I can't say I'm too happy to hear that someone like Blackbeard has eaten it."

Before Ace could think of a reply – he hadn't actually done any research on the devil fruit, he just knew the general basics, and he couldn't see what made it so terrible other than the fact it was being used by Blackbeard – the crunching of snow under boot caught the pair's attention.

Dalton nodded amicably, drawing to stop before them and passing Ace the black coat he had left inside. "The messengers have returned. It seems the Witch, Doctor Kureha, was sighted in Gyasta only yesterday. She doesn't tend to stay down in the villages for long, though, so she's probably returned to Drum Castle." The man pointed to one of the mountains standing formidably in the distance. "Drum Castle's on the summit of that mountain."

Ace snorted, shrugging into his coat and turned to his brother. "Hope you're prepared for a hike, Sabo." The blond grinned in response.

"Living all the way up there, she doesn't strike me as the type to receive many visitors," he noted.

Dalton shook his head. "I can't say I advise you to traverse the mountain. Whilst Doctor Kureha is an amazing physician, I'm not certain she'll help you," he admitted. "She tends to exploit her patients, and well, neither of you look like you have anything to pay her with," he said, eyes darting between Sabo and Ace.

The pirate shrugged. "Doesn't matter if we do or not, I'm sure she'll help. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can persuade her."

Dalton sighed heavily, silently admitting defeat. "Well, if you insist. We can provide you with warmer clothing for your journey and you can set off in the morning."

Sabo darted a glance at Ace, who nodded discreetly. "We'll leave now. No point waiting around," he informed the surprised man, who spluttered.

"But! But it's nearly night and you don't want to be climbing the mountains in the dark! The temperatures will plummet! Although," he broke off abruptly and looked to the clear skies. "It is unseasonably warm right now… But still, It's not worth the risk!" he insisted.

Ace smirked. "The weather and dark won't trouble us. There's no point hanging around. This doctor could leave the castle again if we wait overnight," he pointed out.

Dalton huffed. "Very well. I can't say I'm happy about this, but if you insist."

Ace laughed. "We'll be fine! Thank you for your help," he professed, bowing deeply. Sabo titled his hat in his own thanks.

"Y-you're welcome!" Dalton stammered, taken aback.

Ace and Sabo had barely gone ten yards before he called after them.

"Oh! I forgot! Be careful of the monster that witch has!"

Ace and Sabo both froze. They glanced at each other, eyes wide in surprise.

"Monster?"

**xxx**

"I don't care what that Deaton guy says -"

"Man, you're as bad as Luffy! It's Dalton!"

"- that creature certainly doesn't sound like a monster to me," Sabo finished, ignoring Ace's interruption.

"It doesn't?" Ace asked, glancing back over his shoulder. They'd both agreed that Ace should go first, the unnatural heat from his body being able to melt some of the snow in their path.

Sabo snorted. "No. A lot of people view some of my fishmen colleagues as monsters too, but they're simply misunderstood. Just because they look different on the outside, it doesn't mean they're not the same inside. I mean, I've had a blood transfusion from a fishman before!"

Ace started. "You have? Do I want to know why you needed a blood transfusion in the first place?"

"Probably not," Sabo waved aside the other's concern. That incident had been years ago, anyway.

"So you reckon this creature is just misunderstood, the same as a fishman?"

"All we've heard so far is that it attempted to attack Wapol once," said Sabo absently, eyes fixed firmly on the tree line where he could just make out a few animals in the foliage. They were rather large, he thought mildly. "Sounds to me like the villagers should be offering a hand of friendship. Especially if Wapol really is returning. Maybe it could help them," he suggested.

"Hm, maybe," replied Ace. His shoulders slumped. "From what you say about this Wapol guy, he's the cowardly type, right? Someone who only cares about his own safety?"

"Without a doubt."

"Great," he retorted. "If he's coming back then he must've heard that Blackbeard is long gone from the area and I'm just chasing a cold trail again!" he exclaimed, despondent.

Sabo reached out and caught Ace's elbow. Ace turned to him, surprise decorating his face. He raised an inquisitive brow at the blond.

"Ace, listen. When you do find Blackbeard, you need to be careful," he stressed. "The yami yami no mi is no joke. I can't remember exactly what abilities it bestows on the user but it isn't something to be taken lightly. It's known to be one of the most powerful and dangerous devil fruits out there," he explained.

Ace frowned contemplatively and finally nodded. "I'll be careful," he promised, but his eyes were hard. "I'm not gonna run away from him, though."

He turned and stalked ahead, the snow melting quickly around him. The figures that had been shadowing them since they'd started up the mountain trail scattered fearfully from him. Sabo caught a glimpse of long claws and ears – rabbits of some sort then – before they disappeared from sight.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Sabo muttered. He watched after his self-proclaimed brother for several long seconds before following at a more sedate pace, his boots quickly sinking into the damp earth.

**XXX**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Doctor Kureha
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and please remember to review!


	5. Doctor Kureha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! Quicker update because I’m not actually at work this week! Yay! I can enjoy the heatwave without melting in the office for once :D 
> 
> As always thank you to everyone who took the time to review! I love hearing what you guys think is going to happen. One reviewer – I won’t say who! – was bang on the money :D

**XXX**

**Chapter 5: Doctor Kureha**

**XXX**

“Well… this place is, um…” Sabo paused, struggling to find the right words to describe the building in front of them. In its prime, the castle must’ve been a magnificent place, certainly fit for a king, but the passing of time, lack of general upkeep, and the violent weather associated with winter island had had a dramatic effect on it. It was hard to even see the windows despite the fact that there were currently no snow flurries thanks to Ace’s mera mera no mi; snow and ice had landed on them and hidden them amongst the crumbling brickwork. The imposing front doors, with their wood heavily chipped and scarred, didn’t look they even shut anymore, if the snow built up beside them was any indication.

“It’s…maybe seen better days,” said the blond.

“It’s a dump,” Ace retorted, his head tilted back to stare up the tower, which looked like one good gust of wind might knock it over at any moment.

“I was trying to be tactful, but yeah, it’s a dump,” Sabo readily agreed as they passed through the doors.

The two paused in what appeared to have once been a lush entrance hall, but was now a full-sized ice castle. With very little chance of a thaw atop the mountain and the fact that the front doors didn’t shut, the snow had been allowed to pile up inside, freezing shut the few doors that branched off to either side and turning the curving staircase into a deadly steep ice rink.

Sabo gingerly stepped over a frozen puddle. “I stand corrected. Dump might’ve been the tactful description.”

“OI! Quit insulting my home!”

The pair jumped, quickly searching for the speaker, both silently cursing themselves for letting themselves get distracted. After a few seconds, Ace knocked Sabo’s elbow and gestured upwards. Sabo followed his gaze and spotted the woman immediately. He desperately tried not to stare.

She was dressed in a style far more suited to women one-seventh her age, complete with a navel ring that her shirt did very little to hide. Her hair might’ve been blond at one point in her life, but now matched the stone walls, and it whipped freely around her in the stiff winter breeze. She also had one of the most formidable stares Sabo had seen in a very long time and he had the feeling the sunglasses currently sat on her forehead would do nothing to diminish it.

“How the hell did you two get up here?” she demanded, stalking towards the staircase.

“We climbed up the mountain, obviously,” said Ace.

The woman snorted. “Well, you can damn well go toss yourselves back _off_ the mountain! Get out of my home immediately.”

“Can we assume that you’re Doctor Kureha?” Sabo asked, watching her descend the stairs with a sure footing and the ease of someone who had maneuvered up and down them for years. Dalton had told them Doctor Kureha lived atop the mountain, but as they had been approaching, Sabo had been struggling to see how anyone possibly could. Now, faced with the very doctor he was seeking, he understood. Her steely personality seemed ideally suited to the solitude of the mountain. She definitely wasn’t at all what he was expecting from a doctor.

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

“I’d take that as a ‘yes’,” Ace muttered with a smirk.

“I was told you’d be able to give me a checkup, Doctor Kureha,” Sabo explained.

“I don’t give checkups to people who waltz into my home uninvited,” she argued.

Ace frowned, displeased. “Seriously, what kind of doctor are you to turn away patients? Sabo, do you really need to see this old hag? Let’s just find you another doctor.”

Doctor Kureha snorted, her gaze as icy as their surroundings. “Good luck with that. There are no other doctors on Drum Island anymore. Wapol saw to that.”

The blond resisted Ace’s insistent tugging on his arm. Dragon had wanted him to see this doctor, although he couldn’t for the life of him understand why. She obviously had her own code of conduct when it came to picking her patients and Sabo clearly didn’t make the cut.

“You certainly don’t look like you’re on your deathbed, so why are you bothering me?”

Sabo had to suppress the urge to shudder under the heavy and scrutinising gaze she subjected him to. Next to him, Ace scowled.

“So you only treat people when they’re nearly dead then, do you?” he speculated. He shook his head angrily. “I hate to think how many people you’ve failed to save!”

The doctor’s head dropped abruptly, causing her sunglasses to drop down onto her nose, and putting her face into obscure shadows.

“ _Ace!_ ” Sabo hissed, reaching out to swipe at the other’s shoulder, and feeling more than a little amazed at the other’s rudeness. It struck him as odd from what he’d seen from Ace so far, but then again, maybe it wasn’t; he was a pirate after all. Sabo was sure he could see the woman’s clenched fists shaking at her sides.

“Why? Come on, Sabo, she’s clearly a quack doctor and I’m not gonna let someone like her treat my brother if that’s her attitude!”

The blond stared at his companion, a little taken aback by his words. “It was still uncalled for! Dragon asked me to see her, so I’m going to, and your behaviour isn’t helping!”

“Hey, even if you do persuade her to do this checkup, if she’s only going to do it half-assed she might miss something important!” But despite his harsh words, out the corner of his eye, Sabo saw Ace biting his lip and he could tell he was wondering if he had gone too far. Nobody liked to be reminded of their losses. Sabo turned to the stoic woman, who had remained unnervingly quiet during their whispered exchange, and opened his mouth. To say what, he had no idea, but before he could utter a word, the cantering of hooves echoed down the corridor.

“Doctor!”

A blur of brown fur skidded to a screeching halt, ice and snow kicking up in a wave of white.

“Doctor! I saw two people approaching the castle!”

Sabo felt his jaw drop in surprise as the four legged creature in front of them transformed in the blink of an eye into a little two-legged, toddler-sized ball of fluff in a pink hat.

It froze, as if suddenly sensing their unblinking eyes on it. It turned excruciatingly slowly on the spot and raised its head to stare up at them in return. Sabo was mildly amused to see that it had a bright blue nose and amazingly bright eyes, which were currently wide open in shock as it took in the strangers.

For several seconds, the only movement was the ruffling of clothes and fur wafting gently in the chilly breeze drifting through the castle.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Sabo and Ace jumped at the unexpected shriek of fear. They watched, bemused, as the little creature scuttled backwards away from them and crouched down by the stair banister.

“Doctor! They’re already here!” it cried, their little body still in full view.

Kureha shook her head. “You’re slow, Chopper.”

“Is that a tanuki?” asked Ace, head cocked to one side contemplatively.

“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s either a human disguised as a reindeer, or a reindeer disguised as a human,” Sabo concluded.

Ace wrinkled his nose in confusion. “What’s the difference?”

Sabo smiled, rather taken with the little creature trembling in front of them and sinking to his knees for a better look. “The difference is what it was originally. So what are you, little guy? Reindeer or human?”

Ace grinned. “Are you sure it’s just not a tanuki?” he teased.

In spite of its obvious fear, the creature managed a pretty impressive scowl. “I’m not a tanuki! I’m a reindeer!”

Ace raised his hands in surrender. “If you say so. Hey, wait a minute! Are you the monster the villagers warned us against?” He completely missed the doctor glowering at him, his attention focused entirely on the creature. He laughed jovially. “Seriously? This is the monster? A transforming reindeer?”

Sabo shrugged nonchalantly, but he watched covertly out the corner of one eye, Kureha hefting a decorative axe from the wall and sauntering down the stairs, her eyes boring into the oblivious pirate. He managed to smother a smile. The good doctor Kureha was obviously fond of her pet, if that was indeed what the reindeer was, but Sabo suspected their relationship was much more personal than that of simply owner and pet. Its intelligence was unusual. Sabo was eager to see if he could get it to have a conversation with him; its ability to transform was fascinating. He would bet his goggles that it had eaten a devil fruit and he was interested to learn which one since he had only come across a couple of zoan types before.

“People are often scared of what they don’t understand,” he said, finally realising that Ace was looking down at him for a response.

“Yeah, I get that,” he retorted, his voice tight.

Sabo frowned, confused by the remark, and raised his head, but Ace didn’t meet his eyes. Deciding not to push while they were in public, the Revolutionary made a mental note to ask Ace about the comment later. He sensed there was a story behind it and it didn’t sound like a particularly happy one.

“Still,” Ace continued, “they think that’s a scary monster? I’ve seen scarier plates of food!”

The reindeer shrieked. “Food?! I’m not food!”

“Oi!” Kureha practically snarled. “Quit insulting my assistant! He’s not a monster and he’s not food!” She lifted the axe over her head and leapt down the stairs with speed belying her age.

Quickly realising that her target wasn’t himself, Sabo remained crouched, thinking that Koala would be so proud of him for keeping his head down and out of an argument, although he suspected she hadn’t meant him to do so _literally._

Kureha swung with excellent accuracy right for Ace’s head, but the pirate dodged at the last minute and the swing went wide. She growled and dashed after the retreating dark-haired man with a vengeance.

“I gotta say, you don’t look very appetising,” Sabo mused, unconcerned at the activity going on behind him and continuing to study the reindeer, whose attention was fixed solidly on the doctor spewing insults at the pirate. Sabo couldn’t help the smile that broke out. It was like looking at a child, so wide-eyed with curiosity. A glance over his shoulder showed Ace was grinning like a loon, easily dodging every swing of the doctor’s axe and frustrating the woman to no end.

“Why doesn’t he fight back?” he suddenly asked, surprising the blond.

“He doesn’t really even need to dodge. He’s just showing off,” Sabo replied.

“But the Doctor has an axe! She’ll kill him!” he cried in disbelief.

Sabo shook his head. “Ace is like you; he ate a devil fruit. Listen, Chopper, was it? How do we get the good doctor over there to agree to give me a checkup?”

Chopper turned to him and he was a little surprised to see the reindeer give him a rather calculated stare. “Is that why you’re here?” He nodded. “Oh, then the doctor’s easily persuaded if you can pay her.”

“We don’t have any money on us. We do have information that might interest you though,” he offered in return.

Chopper frowned. “The Doctor will only want money. Or alcohol,” he whispered.

Sabo hummed contemplatively. “Not even if the information we have is about this castle’s former resident?”

“Wapol?!”

In an instant, the reindeer broke out into a deep sweat, the beads of moisture quickly disappearing into his fur, and he looked like Sabo had shown him a ghost. Understanding quickly dawned on the Revolutionary that Wapol hadn’t just wrecked the lives of the villagers if this was the reaction just alluding to him brought about.

“Wapol?” Kureha repeated, not once pausing in her assault on Ace. “What about that useless buffoon?”

Sabo rose to his feet and turned towards the warring couple. “I have information on him that you might want to know. Ace, you can quit showing off now.”

“I’m not!” he protested, but he did stop moving immediately. Kureha’s eyes widened in surprise but it was too late for her to halt her momentum. Ace smirked, unconcerned and let the woman and her axe travel straight through him, a burst of flames licking at her harmlessly. The axe shattered on the wall. In the stunned silence, she stared at the wooden handle left in her grasp.

She scowled. “Damn logias!”

Ace grimaced at the sight of the broken axe head, some of it still partially buried in the wall. “Sorry about that. And I’m sorry for my comments earlier too, that was rude of me,” he admitted, bowing deeply.

Kureha actually raised her sunglasses back up to her forehead and watched him shrewdly. “Who the hell are you people?”

“Sorry, we never did introduce ourselves, did we? I’m Sabo and this is Ace,” the blond supplied, smiling charmingly.

“As in Fire Fist Ace, the Whitebeard Pirate?” The man in question nodded. “I don’t recognise you,” she tossed at Sabo.

“No, you wouldn’t. I’m a Revolutionary.”

“If I give you your damned checkup, will you tell me what you know about Wapol in exchange?” she asked.

Sabo grinned with a shrug. He was hoping that by offering up the information, she would dispense with charging them for her services because they really didn’t have anything to offer her in payment other than what they knew. He was just neglecting to admit that he would tell her all about Wapol even if she still refused to see him. He wasn’t in the business of withholding information that would save lives, and if Wapol really did return, the castle would be his first destination. He would no doubt see his former home as a means to take back control of his realm. No one would be able to do anything without his eyes watching them from his castle on the mountain. And the castle’s two current residents would probably be the first victims of his second rule.

Kureha studied him intensely for several seconds before waltzing back towards the stairs, snapping her fingers in Chopper’s direction. He jumped to attention and toddled after her.

“Is it your eyesight?” she asked over her shoulder, her voice suddenly all business.

“Huh?” Sabo replied eloquently, rather taken aback.

Kureha sighed impatiently. “Don’t take me for one of those useless imbeciles who used to work here. You’re evidently not in any pain, and if you say you climbed the mountain then you’re as physically fit as you can be for someone of your age, which I estimate to be either late teens or early twenties. You do have extensive scarring on your face, though, located around your eye. You’re here because of that, aren’t you?”

Sabo nodded slowly. He chanced a look at Ace out of the corner of his eye, and he looked as equally surprised as the blond felt at the rapid-fire diagnoses.

“Yes, it is,” he confirmed.

Kureha sighed heavily and shook her head. She swung around swiftly, causing Chopper to jump back from his place behind her legs in order to avoid being knocked over.

“Chopper! Make yourself useful and go set up the examination room. The quicker this is over, the quicker we can be rid of them! And bring me my sake!”

“Well, now we know why the villagers call her a witch, I suppose,” Ace huffed. Sabo chuckled but didn’t disagree.

“Get your asses moving before I change my mind!”

**xxx**

Sat atop the examination table, his hat and coat shed and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows, Sabo had to resist the urge to swing his legs like child. His throat felt a little dry as he eyed the sake Ace and Kureha were sharing – their previous squabble forgotten in the face of a shared love of good alcohol, it seemed – with envy. He had explained to Kureha all that he remembered, or had been told, about the day he received his head injuries. He had been interrupted several times, Kureha and Ace taking turns between them, to butt in with their own questions. In Kureha’s case, to clarify; in Ace’s, it was more horrified exclamations that had the doctor hushing him impatiently.

Kureha had impressed the blond. He had barely discarded his coat before she had descended upon him, poking and prodding with purpose. He had been more than a little amazed when she immediately reeled off every injury could Sabo remember attaining, from the obvious to the deeply hidden, hardly pausing for breath before moving onto another body part. Not having ever thought about all the injuries he had received over the years as a collective whole, and most of which were either through training accidents or on Revolutionary business, he was surprised at the amount. Broken or cracked ribs (five; one of which Ace had been able to clarify was from when they fought a pirate who had kidnapped Luffy), the shoulder he had dislocated (entirely Koala’s fault), and the dozens of white, spider-like webs of scars that littered his body were all catalogued with laser-like precision.

It had taken nearly twenty minutes before Kureha seemed to be satisfied that other than the reason he had been sent to see her, he was in good health. She had been exceptionally thorough when examining his eye, but quickly moved on, obviously picking up that he was uncomfortable having someone stare so closely at the damaged skin with such scrutiny. The prognosis, however, was better than he’d expected.

“My sight is still fine then?” he asked, relief flooding through him at the thought he could report back with good news. Whilst he may have brushed off the idea of losing his sight as not a big deal, especially since he had observation haki at his disposal, he had been concerned. It would have meant several serious decisions would’ve needed to have been made.

Kureha nodded once, before taking a deep swig from her sake bottle. “While not one hundred percent, it’s still functional. I suspect as you continue to age, however, you might notice more of a decline.” She caught both men’s frowns. “Oh, don’t look so put out. That probably won’t happen for years yet, and it’s not like you’ll be able to stop the deterioration forever. Slow it down, yes; prevent completely, no. It’s no different than your other organs. Some will stop working as well sooner than others.” She waved a hand distractedly and practically threw herself into a chair.

Sabo shrugged, his concerns alleviated. He knew she was right. His sight would just be his weak spot, something to acknowledge, but not to worry about. “And what about the memories I lost because of the accident? Will I ever get them back?” he asked, hoping his voice didn’t betray how nervous he suddenly felt. He slid off of the exam table, suddenly unable to remain still, and swiftly started rolling his sleeves down again. He turned to Ace, who was lounging against the wall with his own bottle of sake hanging limply from his hands. Ace’s head snapped up, the blond’s words breaking into his deep reverie. In unison, the pair turned to the doctor, whose gaze was jumping between the two. Sabo didn’t doubt that she could see both the hope on Ace’s face and the apprehension on his own.

She sighed heavily, a deep frown marring her face. “The brain is a delicate organ,” she said. “Doctors have studied it for hundreds of years and parts of it are still a mystery. Brain injuries are as unique as fingerprints; no one person will recover the exact same way as another. And in your case, Sabo, you received the injury a long time ago. Now, if you’d been having trouble remembering events from only months ago, I would diagnose you with long term memory issues, but I don’t think there’s any permanent damage to your long term memory _exactly._ You can remember events from after the injury, so your brain is storing them. Which means your short term memory is fine, too. I suspect that the incident and subsequent concussion has simply displaced the memories you had from before the attack. Your brain no doubt shut down in order to cope with your body’s trauma, which is perfectly normal considering how young you were.”

“Right,” Sabo said weakly, slumping back against the exam table, feeling a little overwhelmed and trying to understand exactly what the woman was implying. “So, you’re saying my brain might have just put my memories somewhere else while I tried to deal with what happened?”

Kureha nodded. “Exactly. Short term memory loss after traumatic events isn’t unheard of. I suspect that’s what happened with you, but your brain seems to have _literally_ lost where it placed them. Despite the length of time it’s been, you might be lucky and recover them. Especially considering you’ve reunited with your brother, here,” she jabbed a long finger in Ace’s direction, who looked hopeful at her words. “Just being around him again might jog your memories. Associations can be powerful tools when it comes to recalling things. BUT!” she shouted, causing both of them to start at the loud noise. “It’s still a slim chance. It might never happen and those memories could remain lost forever.”

“Seriously? Sabo might never remember _any_ of it?” Ace asked.

Kureha scowled, her gaze snapping to him sharply. “Oi! A tenryuubito shot at him with the intent to kill! He’s lucky to be alive. I’ve seen full grown men succumb to lesser injuries!”

Ace visibly paled and looked away, shame-faced.

A crash and yelp of surprise broke the heavy silence in the room.

Kureha huffed loudly and jumped to her feet. She thrust her empty bottle of sake into Sabo’s hand as she passed and stomped out the door, her voice echoing loudly against the stone walls. “CHOPPER! Stop trashing the place!”

“Couldn’t have given me a full one, huh?” Sabo muttered. He shook his head and dropped into the doctor’s vacated chair. “Share?” he pleaded, swiping an unused glass from the far end of the table and holding it out to the pirate, who was still rooted to his spot near the wall.

Ace nodded jerkily, causing Sabo to frown, confused, but he accepted the half full bottle held out for him and took a much needed swig, enjoying the burn of alcohol at the back of his parched throat. He re-filled his glass a second time before sliding the bottle back across the table to where Ace now sat, perched on the edge of his chair like a nervous kid expecting a scolding.

“What’s wrong with you?” the blond prompted, curious as to the sudden silence since Ace had done nothing but pry at him for more details throughout his entire examination.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“What the hell for?” Sabo wondered, bemused.

Ace glanced at him briskly before casting his eyes downwards, refusing to meet the blond’s gaze. “It’s funny that you’re the one with the memory loss, but I’m the one who forgot,” he chuckled, humorlessly.

“Forgot what?”

Ace smiled, but it was muted and almost poignant. “I forgot to just be thankful you’re alive.” Sabo blinked in surprise, but remained quiet, waiting for the other to continue. “I was so focused on the idea that you’d lost your memories of me, of Luffy, our home… Hell, even Dadan! I just… I forgot that it meant you really were attacked, and it really _did_ nearly kill you. I mean, I know what happened to you. Dogra saw it - he told us! For weeks after that tenryuubito finally left, every time we went into the city, it was all anybody could talk about! They loved seeing the power of the tenryuubito firsthand. It was sickening! It’s really no wonder that you might not have tried to remember it! And here I come along, forgetting all of that and pushing you to ask, to try and find a solution when I should just be grateful you’re even still here!” he finished, almost breathless from his self-deprecation.

Sabo stared at the bowed head. Ace had really hit the crux of the matter. His mind was just a confused muddle of thoughts. He knew of Luffy, but he didn’t know the other names, and no faces came to mind when he repeated them silently in his head. It was overwhelming to be faced with the other side of the reality that he had been living. He had been blissfully unaware that there were people out there who missed him, had mourned him, even. He hadn’t wanted to return; the irresistible urge to flee had been all he had focused on. Given what Kureha had explained earlier, he wondered if it was possible the attack itself and the trauma he had experienced afterwards had motivated him to push forward, to never look back, because if he did, would the nightmares he still occasionally suffered reveal the true horror of what had happened? Would he remember the searing flames that had scarred his flesh? The smoke that had burnt his lungs? Did he want to know all of that?

“Ace, you don’t need to apologise,” he said, finally finding his voice. The other reluctantly returned his gaze. “It’s okay that you want me to remember,” he admitted softly. “I know I’m probably nothing like the brother you remember me to be but -”

“You are, though,” Ace interrupted quickly. “You _are_ still our Sabo, with or without the memories. I should’ve known better than to think a little thing like amnesia would stop you from being you,” he grinned. “But I’m still sorry. I didn’t think until that old hag reminded me.”

Sabo cocked his head. “You’re a lot politer than I expected. I wouldn’t have taken you for someone who apologises for anything,” he admitted.

Ace laughed, and with the sound came the relief from the tension that had slowly built up throughout their conversation.

“I never used to be,” he revealed. “It’s one of the downsides to being raised by bandits. But Makino taught me. It was just one more thing I had to learn after you left. You were the one who talked us out of trouble, and most of the time it was because you were so damn polite!” The pirate stared at him knowingly. “In fact, I bet you can _still_ talk your way of anything, can’t you?”

Sabo grinned.

He wasn’t grinning, however, a short while later. Once again, he was left staring at the top of Ace’s head, but now instead of being bowed in regret, the pirate was face down on the table, his deep snores echoing around the room.

Sabo felt a small stab of annoyance, more because he had been genuinely concerned than actually angry. He had had no idea what to think when Ace had abruptly keeled over, his body slumping into a most uncomfortable angle, and it was only after his persistent prodding of the pirate had yielded no results that he had shouted for Kureha.

She had taken one look at the dark-haired pirate before declaring he was asleep. Needless to say, Sabo had been baffled until Kureha explained Ace probably suffered from narcolepsy, a condition that surprised him. That was when the annoyance had set in. He couldn’t believe he had been travelling with the man for nearly two days, baring his own medical history for the other’s benefit, and Ace had completely failed to mention his own. For a second, Sabo had wondered if what he was feeling right then was how Koala often felt towards himself, which had induced another burst of annoyance because although he loved his friend dearly, he hated anything that made him think of how hard he could make things for her on occasion.

Bored and without company, the blond had examined the room since Kureha had left in whirlwind. After the diagnosis, she had loudly declared that she needed to head to the village for supplies, and she had taken her interesting little companion with her. Sabo had been intrigued enough to initially consider following the pair to see how they traversed the mountain, because although it hadn’t snowed for hours, the drifts were still large and cumbersome. One look from Kureha, who Sabo was seriously beginning to consider could read minds as well as she read the human body, and he had remained seated, nodding at the appropriate intervals while she lectured him to keep his curiosity to himself and the pair of them out of trouble.

There were plenty of books in the room, however, and a quick look had shown they were all medical texts, some written in languages Sabo hadn’t even recognised. They weren’t his usual reading material but he had browsed through a couple, and with Kureha’s explanation still fresh in his mind, he found himself consciously seeking out the chapters on head injuries. He hadn’t been able to read for long, though; some of the details were more than a little graphic and had left him feeling slightly queasy.

So once again, he was stuck staring at Ace, waiting for the other to wake up, and hoping he would finish his story. He had been in the middle of telling the blond about the time Luffy had somehow managed to get blown out of their treehouse – a treehouse Sabo had been shocked to learn they had built themselves from scratch – and he wanted to know more. He was surprised by the craving he felt. He might have been feeling hesitant about actually recovering his memories, but he couldn’t deny that the more Ace told him, the more he felt a burning desire to know more about himself. It was a desire that hadn’t been present since he was a child, listening to the other Revolutionaries talk of family and home. Lacking the memories of course, and not having quite settled in to Baltigo, he hadn’t considered when he was younger that a home didn’t always refer to a physical location; sometimes it was the people. But the more he had learnt and heard about Goa Kingdom, the less interested in it he’d become, choosing instead to distance himself.

Looking at his self-proclaimed brother snoring across the table from him, and another whose wanted poster was burning a hole in his pocket, he wasn’t sure if he regretted his decision or not. He hadn’t lied. He would’ve driven himself mad had he dwelt on his past too long; but he also couldn’t help but feel he had somehow lost out, that circumstances had cheated him out of something precious.

Ace snored again and shuffled in his chair until he was precariously balanced on the very edge of his seat. Sabo rolled his eyes, thinking it would serve the man right if he fell off. He did move the orange cowboy hat though, hanging it from his own chair before Ace could crush it in any potential fall.

Returning his gaze to pirate, Sabo was suddenly struck by the sheer vulnerability, and in turn trust, he was presented with. Ace was a Whitebeard Pirate, which in some ways offered him immunity, but in others also made him a natural target. He didn’t know what Ace’s bounty was, but he bet it was high if he was a division commander. He wondered how Ace had managed to leave their flagship without an escort, because _surely_ the rest of the crew were aware of other’s uncanny habit of falling asleep. Ace may have a logia type devil fruit but there were still people who could seriously hurt him.

Like himself, Sabo mused. He didn’t brag often, but he was aware that he had a natural talent when it came to haki. He could very easily hurt Ace if he put his mind to it. The pirate was adamant that Sabo was his long lost brother, but he could have just shared a name and a mysterious resemblance to Ace’s actual brother. In fact, if Ace hadn’t told him the circumstances around how Sabo had received his injuries, he would’ve thought the man mad. If there hadn’t been such concrete proof and they had only discovered later it was actually just a case of mistaken identity, Sabo believed he would’ve been disappointed. From everything he had heard so far, it sounded like the lives of the three brothers had been fun. They had been truly free, running wild in a forest, and freedom was something Sabo had strived to give others.

Sabo hummed thoughtfully, wondering if perhaps he unconsciously remembered that feeling of freedom and that was why he had always worked so hard to give it to others. That in turn also made him wonder what other actions he might’ve unconsciously carried out throughout the years. And annoyingly the only one who could tell him was currently snoring, blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil he was causing his companion.

The blond frowned, but no matter how much he glared at the other, Ace remained stubbornly asleep. Despite strong temptation to prod him again to see if that prompted any movement, he resisted the urge and slumped back into his chair, feeling more agitated than he had in months. He could feel himself starting to fidget; his hands picked at his cravat and his feet tapped a pattern onto the flagstones that annoyed even his own ears. He wanted to talk, desperately, to someone, _anyone_ , who might be able to tell him where to go from here. He had technically completed his mission. He had informed the locals of their returning tyrant and found the doctor Dragon had wanted him to see. He had no other reason to stay on Drum Island. He had no reason to stay with Ace, he thought, and the idea sent a stab of phantom pain through his chest that seemed to ricochet off his ribs. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he was to part ways with the pirate, he would lose his opportunity to get to know both the Whitebeard Pirate and possibly even Luffy, who had fascinated him from the get-go.

Torn, he crossed his arms with a huff, and when doing so accidentally brushed against the hard lump of the den den mushi hidden within his inner breast pocket. He tapped the pocket, a sudden thought crossing his mind.

He pulled the sleepy snail from its resting place and dialed a number. It rang four times before the connection clicked to life.

“Yes?”

Tension that Sabo wasn’t even aware had built up suddenly evaporated like smoke at the reassuring sound of the Revolutionary Army’s leader’s deep, resonating voice.

“It’s me,” he replied softly, despite the fact that Ace hadn’t roused at the new noise filling the room.

“Sabo,” Dragon greeted, and despite the sotto tone, Sabo easily detected the warmth hidden underneath. “I take it you’ve reached Drum Island? Do you have anything to report?”

“Yeah, got here late yesterday afternoon. I’m not sure the locals here are going to accept our help but they at least appreciated the warning that Wapol might return. And I found the doctor you wanted me to see. I got the all clear.”

“That’s good news, on both parts,” said Dragon.

“Yeah,” he agreed quietly, unsure of exactly what to say.

“Sabo, why have you called me?” Dragon asked, straight to the point, but the question still threw the blond. “You usually call Koala with your reports, when you remember. Has something happened?”

“You could say that,” he smiled ruefully. “I stopped off on the way to restock and literally bumped into someone who claims to know me from before, back when I lived on Dawn Island,” he explained.

There was a short pause and Sabo could easily picture his leader’s surprised face, which wasn’t really that different from his normal face, except that he had the habit of tilting his head to the right when he was taken aback by something. “And who is this person, Sabo? Do you believe them?”

“Well, considering that only the people who were actually there that day you rescued me know the entire story, I’m going to say yes, I do,” Sabo smiled. “He knows exactly what happened to me. Someone we knew saw the entire thing and told him. As to who he is, well, he said he’s my brother,” he explained, once again almost tripping over the word that seemed to carry so much weight, “and he’s none other than Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates!”

“I see,” Dragon replied.

“Oh, there’s more! Remember that rookie you saved back in Logue Town, Strawhat Luffy? Apparently he’s our little brother!”

Dragon guffawed loudly, making Sabo jump and stare at the little snail in shock. Dragon hardly ever laughed like that.

“What’s so funny?” he enquired, curious.

“Nothing, just the world working in mysterious ways,” was the reply, the disembodied voice still sounding deeply amused. “So, brothers? Adopted brothers, I can assume?”

“Yeah, apparently we shared a cup of sake and pledged our brotherhood.”

“Sake? How old were you?” Dragon wondered.

“About ten, according to Ace,” said Sabo, dragging a hand roughly through his blond curls. “Dragon, I remember you saying we met once, briefly, before my accident. Did I mention anything about my family to you then?” The silence that was met with his question was almost enough to have Sabo retract it, to claim it was a stupid question and not to worry about it. His memory of those first few days after the accident were hazy, but he did remember the fuss he put at the suggestion the Revolutionaries return him to Dawn Island.

“When I first saw you, you were running towards Grey Terminal,” said Dragon, snatching Sabo from the past and back into the present.

“What’s Grey Terminal?” the blond asked, and he was slightly surprised to hear Ace grumble at the name and shift, although he remained sound asleep.

“It was a trash heap, essentially. Anything the nobles didn’t want ended up in Grey Terminal eventually. It was on fire, by order of the royal family, to purge the trash before the tenryuubito arrived. But you weren’t trying to get away from the fire, you were running towards it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, you were trying to escape through Grey Terminal but your attempts were halted by the guards at the gate. I wasn’t close enough to hear what was being said, but I got the impression you were calling for someone over the wall. It could well have been your brothers,” Dragon concluded.

“Oh,” said Sabo weakly, once again his mind a whirl. His life with his brothers had sounded pretty wonderful. He couldn’t imagine why he had willingly left them behind? And why had he been so insistent on not going back when he awoke? He had obviously been concerned about them during the fire, and there was no denying Ace was elated to see him again, so he doubted they’d had some sort of disagreement that had led to him leaving.

“Sabo, there’s no urgency for you to return to Baltigo,” Dragon offered.

Sabo frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You can take the time to get to know your family. You’ve earned the time off and we can cope without you for now. So long as you remain in contact, stay with your brother. I know you have questions that we have never been able to answer for you,” he explained. “And honestly, I’d rather not have a Whitebeard Pirate or a rookie storming my front door in order to see you.”

Sabo chuckled at the image and felt a wave of gratitude towards the man who had practically raised him.

“I’ll leave it to you to inform Koala of the new developments,” Dragon added, and a second later the den den mushi clicked, indicating he’d been hung up on.

“Damn it!” Sabo cursed loudly.

“What the hell’s wrong?”

He looked up to see Ace rubbing sleepily at one eye like a small child. He shook his head, stuffing the den den mushi back into the depths of his pocket. “Nothing. I’ve just been given an unpleasant task, but it’s nothing that can’t wait.” Ace shrugged, unconcerned and stretching like an overgrown cat, his back popping. “So, narcolepsy, huh?”

Ace groaned unhappily. “Yeah, it can be a pain.” He eyed the blond shrewdly. “You look quite calm though, most people panic and think I died.”

“Kureha was cursing that you hadn’t,” the blond informed him cheerfully.

Ace rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You were the one who diagnosed me when we were kids. Found the condition in a book after the first time it happened, cool as anything, you were. You even taught me the signs of an impending episode.”

Without explanation, a niggle appeared at the back of Sabo’s mind. He couldn’t place why what Ace said sounded wrong; it just did. And the way the dark-haired man was staring at him, like he was probing but for what, Sabo couldn’t decipher.

A faint rumble in the distance distracted the pair from their conversation.

“What the heck was that?” Ace asked, rising to his feet and walking over to the window.

“Probably an avalanche or something.”

Ace smirked at him over his bare shoulder. “Well, we can’t be expected to travel back down in an avalanche, now can we? And it’d be rude to let a guest get bored. Fancy a tour of this place?”

Unbeknownst to the pair as they set off to explore, several miles away, a caravel was slowly entering the river mouth, her straw hat adorned captain perched upon the figurehead and his dark eyes fixed hopefully on the mountain.

**XXX**

**Next Chapter: Castle of Snow**

Luffy is getting ever closer :D

On another note, I do have issues with an action chapter further down the line – would anyone be willing to help me, possibly long term, as this fic is gonna have a fair amount of action in it? If it appeals to anyone, could you please drop me a PM? I’m at my wits end and need a fresh pair of eyes!! It would be much appreciated!

 


	6. Castle of Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! First of all, thank you to everyone who answered sent me messages offering assistance! I really appreciated it and I'm sorry if there were a couple I didn't get around to responding to.
> 
> I'm pleased to announce that there has been a changing of the guard; the wonderful Wordlet has not only agreed to help with those pesky action scenes but to also take up the mantel of beta for me! I'm insanely grateful for all her help so far and super excited about her suggestions! She also writes OP fics so I encourage you all to go check out her fics if you haven't already. Check my favourite authors list for her name :D

**XXX**

**Chapter 6: Castle of Snow**

**XXX**

Dalton was close to despair. In two days, two strange groups had somehow found their way to the island he had sworn to protect and restore, and both times the news had been the same. He wished he could dedicate the manpower and time required to address the threat of the returning tyrant, but his energies were completely focused on the pirates – so young and naïve and yet extremely dedicated to one another, which even he could see that in the few short hours he'd spent in their presence. It was humbling to see the care they held for one another but he couldn't help but think they were stupidly reckless.

"I can't stress enough how dangerous this is," he repeated for umpteenth time, shaking his head at the pirates' plan to _trek_ up the mountain with their ill crew member in search of the doctor.

"They'll be fine," the long-nosed one muttered, but Dalton wasn't entirely sure whether he was reassuring himself or Dalton.

"Luffy! Stand still already! This is hard enough without you bouncing around!"

"Oi, shitty Captain, hurt one hair on Nami-swan's head and there'll be no dinner!"

Luffy stopped moving immediately, which finally allowed Sanji and Vivi to finish strapping their stricken navigator to the captain's back.

"I must warn you that the doctor may not be in the best of moods when you find her," Dalton cautioned. "We had a couple of other folks hike up there yesterday and she doesn't take kindly to visitors. She might take it out on you."

"Are they the same ones who warned you about Wapol?" Vivi asked, adjusting one final strap around Luffy before stepping back. Dalton nodded. "Oh, they sound nice enough then."

"Maybe they want to join the crew?" Luffy shouted excitedly. His head literally bounced forward nearly a foot when the blond man drawing heavily on his cigarette smacked the back of it.

"Quit inviting strangers already! They might be scary!" Usopp whined.

"I still want to meet them," Luffy pouted, but followed dutifully behind Sanji as he walked towards the front door.

"Well, they're apparently as crazy as us for climbing that mountain so you never know, you could get on a like a house on fire!" Sanji joked, making Luffy laugh gleefully.

Dalton shook his head in dismay, wondering what in the world would land on Drum's shores next, before following his impromptu guests out into the chilled and bitter wind.

**xxx**

The slapping of boots on flagstones was the only warning Ace and Sabo had before the heavy oak door slammed open with such force its handle was buried in the stone bricks.

"YOU!" Doctor Kureha shrieked, one long and lanky finger pointing accusingly at the wide-eyed pirate.

"It was already broken," Ace exclaimed quickly and flashed the old woman a grin.

"You are _melting_ my castle!" she shouted, crossing her arms with a huff, before Ace's words registered. "Wait, _what_ was already broken?" she wondered critically.

"Oh, nothing important," Ace brushed off with a shrug, pushing the book he had been browsing back on the shelf. "And I can't stop the melting. I'm made of fire," he reminded her.

Kureha shook her head and sighed deeply. She sauntered into the room and stood over Sabo, who was sat in a low armchair, surrounded on all sides by numerous texts. "So you decided to be nosey did you? Looking for the secret of my youth?"

Sabo exchanged a bemused look with the pirate. The woman actually had a secret for her youthful appearance? "We thought you would be longer getting back after that avalanche," he said carefully, sidestepping the idea and snapping the book in his lap closed. "We didn't think you'd mind if we browsed your library. You've got quite the collection," he admitted.

"Meaning I couldn't get Sabo to budge once he saw this," Ace cut in, gesturing to the wall of rare and unusual books, no doubt a leftover from Wapol's occupation of the castle.

"And therefore I have no knowledge of what Ace could possibly have broken because he wandered off by himself," the blond smirked.

"I said it was nothing important!"

"Doctor? Some of the beakers are smashed!"

Sabo chuckled, glancing at the open door, where Chopper's voice had echoed from. Kureha raised an eyebrow at the sheepish pirate.

"See? Nothing important," Ace shrugged. "How'd you get back so quickly anyway? There was a lot of noise a while ago. Can you walk on top of snow? Is that why they call you a witch?"

Kureha scoffed at the other's weak attempts to deflect but surprisingly allowed it. "A little avalanche isn't going to stop me, I have my ways up and down the mountain. Although usually that's enough to keep the visitors at bay," she added, glaring at the pair over her glasses. "And speaking of visitors, Cocoaweed Village is all of a twitter about the pair of you."

"Oh really?" Sabo acknowledged, completely unconcerned.

"Yes, it's not often a pirate and a Revolutionary are seen together. And even unlikelier is that Dalton agreed to a pirate setting foot on Drum again after what happened last time," she said.

Ace scowled and started pacing agitatedly. "Blackbeard is the reason I'm even here. He was a Whitebeard Pirate," he admitted, his back to them.

"Yes, I knew. I'd heard of Marshall D. Teach before," she replied. "And now here's another damn D," she muttered with a roll of the eyes.

Sabo suspected he hadn't been meant to hear that comment, because she only smiled when he caught her eye. He was struck suddenly by how it resembled the all-knowing smirk Dragon occasionally showed. He sighed and slumped back into his chair more comfortably, understanding that he wasn't going to get any answer from her.

"Now, about my payment," Kureha started.

"Payment for what?" Ace asked, frowning, swinging around towards to her.

"For my services," she elaborated.

"Sabo already paid you for that with the information he had on Wapol," the dark-haired pirate reminded her.

"Yes, but that was before you started melting my castle and breaking my property," she retorted smugly. Sabo wondered if she hadn't purposely decided to charge for the effects the devil fruit user was unintentionally doing to the castle as soon as she had realised what he was. She had given in rather easily, the blond realised in hindsight. "Now, from the looks of it, neither of you exactly have anything of value on you. So maybe I should put you to work tidying up the mess you've left. Honestly, it may have been cold but at least it was mostly dry before you arrived!"

Ace gaped at her in disbelief. "You really are a witch," he grumbled. "Seriously, it's not like I can help it!"

"You're the one still making puddles in my hallways, you could at least have the courtesy to clean it up."

"Get your little pet to do it," Ace told her.

Kureha swiped up a book and threw it straight at Ace's head quicker than Sabo could follow. He cringed when the delicate volume hit the window with a heavy thud before falling to the floor in a crumpled heap, Ace having let the projectile pass through him.

"Chopper is my apprentice! Not the maid!"

"Well neither are we!"

Sabo shook his head at the ensuing argument. It lacked any heat, with the pirate and doctor obviously enjoying the verbal spar. Amused, Sabo was content to watch, although he did discreetly move a few of the books out of Kureha's reach, when he just barely picked up the distant echo of a crash from below.

Noting the two bickering beside him had heard nothing, the blond focused and discreetly extended his observation haki, letting the familiar feeling wash over him. He reached out tentatively, pleased that Ace and Kureha didn't seem to notice anything amiss, and turned his attention to downstairs.

As expected, he quickly located Chopper in the vicinity of the entrance hall. Three other, much smaller auras were floating above the reindeer's head and Sabo was amused to sense they were tiny birds, probably newly hatched, but they certainly felt excited to see the little creature below. Shaking his head, the blond couldn't help but grin. He wondered what Dalton or the villagers would say if they saw the so called 'monster' right then. He knew several of the villagers had never expected to see them descend the mountain because of the vicious creature and Sabo was intrigued to find out why they thought Chopper was 'vicious'. He knew from personal experience it could be unnerving to see something familiar transform and not quite understand the reasons why – Kuma flashed unbidden through his mind; Dragon had told him he would understand one day but why that day couldn't be sooner rather than later, Sabo had given up raging against.

Pushing aside the memories of his former friend and colleague, the Revolutionary was about to return his attention to Ace and Kureha when he sensed something else.

It took him several seconds to work out where the aura was coming from since there was no one outside the castle that he could sense, yet he could definitely feel another presence. It was moving slowly, painstakingly so, like whoever it was carrying a great weight. Sabo jerked in surprise when whoever it was moved _upwards_. Sabo swung around to stare out the window. The weather was clear, the stars glittering like jewels, but surely there was no one as crazy as himself and Ace that they'd try and climb the mountain?

As he focused on the unexpected mountaineer, he realised that it wasn't in fact one person, but three. The other two auras were so weak that the third stronger aura had shielded them. But even the strongest was beginning to flag, and he was surprised to realise that the third must be carrying the other two. Sabo had a brief thought that they may not even reach the summit of the plateau but in spite of his doubts, they continued to creep ever closer.

"We have company," he said, and despite the soft tone, his voice cut through the room and the others fell silent immediately.

"What?" Kureha finally asked, as blunt as ever.

Sabo nodded towards the window. "We have company," he repeated. "There are three people climbing up the mountain."

"Don't be ridiculous. No one climbs the mountain, even in good weather."

"Er, we did," Ace reminded the old doctor.

"I'll rephrase that, no one _sane_ climbs the mountain."

"Well, this is certainly a week for records then," said Sabo, ignoring Ace's cry of indignance. "Because they'll be at the top any minute now. And Chopper's outside," he added, concerned. He didn't think the reindeer would have too much trouble with three exhausted travellers but he was still technically outnumbered.

Kureha stared at him long enough that Sabo thought she might ignore his warning but she was up on her feet and out the door moments later.

Sabo rose to his own feet, curious to see who would be both so brave and foolhardy. Ace and himself were in excellent fitness but the same couldn't be said for the three approaching and he wanted to know what possessed them to undertake the trek. It was obviously important enough to them to try.

Sabo donned his top hat and picked up the lead pipe leaning against the back of his chair. He paused when he caught Ace staring at him thoughtfully.

"What?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"You can use observation haki." It wasn't a question.

Sabo nodded. "Yeah."

"How long have you been able to use it?" the pirate wondered.

The blond shrugged and made for the door. "Since I was about sixteen, I guess. Or at least, that's when I could do it at will."

"That's young!" Ace exclaimed, hurriedly following after him.

"Yeah, well, good thing I did master it then. It's saved my life more than once," he admitted ruefully.

"Any of those stories going to be something I want to hear?" Ace tried to joke, although Sabo could see he looked more than a little unsettled.

"Probably not. Now, shall we go see who our reckless visitor is?" Sabo grinned.

**xxx**

The wind was fierce atop the rock mountain. It whipped ferociously at Luffy's shirt where he lay flat on his front, panting heavily, and made the sweat freeze to his skin.

Despite the extraordinary feat of strength he had just achieved – carrying one sick and another injured nakama up a cliff possibly hundreds of feet high – Luffy couldn't feel the burn one would expect to find even in his rubber muscles. In fact, he felt nothing but numb. He wasn't even sure he still had a grip on Sanji, although he could just about make out Nami's furnace-like heat to his right, her still too warm face pressed against his bare arm.

Barely managing to force his tired eyes open, Luffy turned to where he had last seen the blond cook. He wasn't beside him.

Alarm shooting through him, Luffy raised his heavy head just enough to see him slipping backwards. He barely had time to register the sight of Sanji sliding away from them before the snow beneath him started to crunch threateningly.

Luffy groaned and glanced awkwardly over his shoulder at the fast approaching ledge, the snow seemingly determined to drag them back over the edge of the mountain. Reaching blindly for Sanji, Luffy's stomach swooped uncomfortably when they slid several more inches, a harsh wind yanking at their clothes as if to say 'hurry up and fall'. The tug of gravity made itself known and he could feel himself slipping back.

Grimacing in pain and the exhaustion hitting him like a rock, making his numb limbs feel even heavier, he tried desperately to grasp at the frozen ground, but it was useless. There was nothing to hold onto except snow and ice which immediately turned to slush in his hands.

Luffy quit trying to find a purchase on the solid ground and instead made a grab for Sanji, intent on keeping his nakama close, hoping he would have the strength left to protect them during the fall. Gum-gum balloon might save their lives at least, if he could just muster the energy to do it, he thought.

A hand clamped around his forearm.

Luffy jumped. He hadn't heard anyone approaching over the howling wind. He tried to ignore the annoying dark spots dancing across his eyes and instead focus on their saviour, who was easily pulling them away from the ledge.

The hand clasping him tightly – but not so hard as to hurt – was soft. Much softer than Luffy had ever experienced before. He forced his tired and blurry vision to focus long enough to notice that the hand was big, brown and furry.

He grunted when the hand released him and his body fell back to the ground with a muffled thump and startled yelp. He turned his head just enough to spit out the mouthful of snow his open mouthed fall had greeted him with.

He felt someone poking and tugging at him, carefully untying the ropes that had miraculously held Nami securely in place during the trek up. He frowned when Sanji was pulled from the death grip he had on the cook's coat, and Nami was rolled away from his side. He didn't want them out of reach. Did they even reach the top? It felt like the top of other mountains – the air was definitely thinner and the wind was unforgiving enough – but as Nami was often reminding them, this was the Grand Line and nothing was as expected.

He groaned weakly and tried to push himself up onto his elbows but a deep ache had replaced the numbness and his limbs wouldn't cooperate. "Are…a-are we…at…top?" he stuttered, his voice croaky from the bitter cold.

A small squeak was the first response he received and a blurry, brown ball of fur wearing a pink hat appeared in his vision. Luffy blinked, surprised, for the little creature was definitely smaller than he expected and it had no hands; instead it was knocking its hooves together nervously. He wondered where their rescuer had disappeared to. He hadn't heard anyone leaving.

"Y-yes, you're at the top," the little creature told him.

Relief like nothing Luffy had experienced since Ace and Dadan returned from the fires in Gray Terminal washed over him like a tidal wave. He gave up trying to move and slumped back into the snow, his gaze turning to the skies above. It was a surprisingly clear night and the stars had just started to appear, sparkling mischievously.

The now familiar sound of crunching snow made him perk up again.

"Well?"

Luffy blinked blearily as the woman – who was no better dressed for the weather than he was – knelt down beside him.

"This one's practically frozen," the little creature replied, his voice soft but confident. "That one has various lacerations and possibly broken bones."

Luffy followed as best he could without moving his head the direction a hoof pointed. He could just make out blond hair flapping in the wind. Sanji, then. Luffy hoped none of those injuries were his fault. He hadn't meant to drop the cook and he'd caught him as quickly as he could.

"And the woman?"

"She's burning up. I suspect some sort of virus."

"Hm, stupid children, to climb the mountain in such conditions." The woman disappeared from view for several tense seconds before reappearing, a dissatisfied frown firmly in place. "The girl's the most critical. Her temperature is dangerously high."

She rattled off several very long and complicated words Luffy knew he had no hope of understanding but they sounded downright terrifying. He forced the miniscule amount of energy that remained in his body to force his arm to move. The furry, little creature squeaked when he managed to snag a few blue tipped fingers into the beaten leather of the woman's jacket. For a moment, Luffy thought she would shake him off, but she surprised him instead by leaning over his face, her grey hair falling about them like a curtain.

"Th-they're-" Luffy coughed, the sheer cold making his lungs ache but he continued to force out the words in spite of the creature trying to hush him. "They my…n-nakama," he said, teeth chattering violently.

The woman's face remain passive for several seconds, her dark eyes boring deep into his own, before she nodded once. "I understand. I'll take good care of them, don't worry now."

Luffy let his hand fall away back into the snow, relieved. His nakama were going to be okay. His eyes slid closed slowly, the urgent need to sleep and rest and recover – preferably with some meat if Sanji could find anything – falling upon him. The ground was uncomfortable and the wind was frigid, but right then he really didn't care. Fully intending to let himself fall into blissful oblivion while the woman ordered around the little creature in preparation of moving them, he was jolted back from the precipice of unconsciousness by an unexpectedly familiar voice shouting his name.

"LUFFY?!"

Blinking groggily, the pirate rolled his head towards the voice and its comforting resonance which (despite the shock currently colouring it) immediately made him think of campfires roasting crocodile meat and a home in the trees. The blurry image of his big brother came into focus, snow kicking up at his heels as he closed the distance between them.

"A-Ace?" he whispered, confused in more ways than one. How was Ace there? And why was he shirtless? He frowned, annoyed that the stupid black spots seemed to be taking over the majority of his vision and making it hard to concentrate. He squinted in a desperate attempt to keep focused on the man rapidly approaching but it was no good; the exhaustion was too strong.

Knowing he would worry his brother if he arrived at Luffy's side to find him knocked out, but unable to fight the pull anymore, the pirate let his eyes slide shut. But not before his eyes registered the impossible sight of a pair of goggles sat proudly atop the rim of a black top hat.

**xxx**

"Luffy?" Ace dropped to his knees beside his unconscious brother, concern written all over his face. "Luffy?" he tried again, shaking his brother's thin and poorly covered shoulders gently.

"He's fine, just exhausted and freezing," Kureha assured him, rising gracefully to her feet. Ace huffed a relieved sigh.

Sabo drew to a stop a few feet away. He quickly observed the other two unconscious and injured youths before he fixed his attention firmly on Luffy. Ignoring Chopper and Kureha's rushed discussion on whether it was safe to carry them inside, or if they should go fetch some boards to stabilise any internal injuries, he studied the pirate.

The first thing that struck him was how small he appeared. He didn't look like someone who had the physical strength to drag himself up the mountain, never mind the dead weight of two other people. Nor did he look like the same teen from Logue Town. That pirate had been almost larger than life, his exuberance and confidence completely detracting from the fact that it looked like a strong breeze could knock him over.

Abruptly, the image of Luffy waving like flag in a gale came to mind and if the situation had been slightly less serious, Sabo might've laughed at the humorous image.

"Hold this," Ace ordered, holding out a well-worn straw hat towards him.

Sabo stared at it dumbly for several seconds before reaching out with one gloved hand to carefully take it.

"And don't lose it, or we'll never hear the end of it. It's Luffy's treasure."

"Odd treasure," he muttered quietly, but nodded and tucked it away under one arm.

"Odd story actually, but I'll let Luffy tell it to you." Ace gently scooped up his brother and rose to his feet easily, which just proved how light Luffy was.

Sabo hoped a good meal would add some muscle to the teen. He stepped aside, allowing Ace to pass by silently. He had to resist the impulse to follow and maybe even hover. He could admit privately that he really didn't like how Luffy looked, curled up and completely defenceless - if the fact that he had one of Whitebeard's strongest pirates currently looking after him was disregarded.

The surge of protectiveness he felt deep in his chest took him aback. He'd never felt such an instinct so strongly before. And he knew how strong Luffy could be; he had seen him fight back in Logue Town. He hoped it was just a reaction to seeing the younger man's current condition and that it would disappear. From the view things Ace had managed to share and what he had seen first-hand, Luffy could be handful and his sanity might not be able to handle the other's antics.

"Chopper! Hurry up and get the girl. You!" Sabo snapped to attention at Kureha's shout. "You carry the blond guy over there. And be sharp about it. Night's already fallen and the temperatures going to start dropping quickly soon."

Sabo nodded and carefully hefted the young man into his arms and taking as much care as possible not to squash the straw hat entrusted to him. "How did he manage to carry both of them?" he muttered quietly, noting with some surprise that while the man was lithe, he certainly wasn't light.

Ahead of him, Ace chuckled and smirked over his shoulder. "He's Luffy! Need I say more?"

Sabo shook his head weakly and trudged after the others, wondering what else the Strawhat Pirates could do to surprise him.

**xxx**

The next hour was a flurry of activity. Kureha ordered them all around briskly and with the confidence that they would carry out her instructions to the letter, or else.

Chopper had been set to work diagnosing the virus that was ravaging the young woman's body and causing her core temperature to reach such dangerous heights that even Ace could feel how hot she was. Ace himself had the easiest job. He had been ordered to take Luffy to one of the spacious guestrooms and to start slowly raising Luffy's temperature.

Sabo found himself running backwards and forwards between the store rooms and a surprisingly modernised surgery theatre, preparing it with equipment he would rather not know the function of, so that Kureha could operate on the blond man's back, which was in pretty bad shape.

He was relieved that Kureha deemed him unfit to assist with the surgery itself and kicked him out of the operating room. He had had absolutely no interest in medicine beyond basic first aid field training and after overhearing Kureha discussing with Chopper – who Sabo quickly realised was actually her protégé, rather than just the modest assistant she had claimed – he didn't think that opinion would change.

Wiping one gloveless hand across his brow, Sabo decided to find Ace and check in on the two pirates. Despite the seriousness of potential frostbite and the dangers of warming up a practically frozen body, Ace hadn't seemed overly concerned about his task, but Sabo was very conscious that he had been left alone for a while now, which left the blond feeling inexplicably guilty.

The blond knocked softly on the door of the guest bedroom to announce his presence before he entered. He was immediately assaulted by a wall of heat; not a particularly stifling heat, but the gentle warmth that Sabo knew Koala had always appreciated after they had visited a winter island and it made the room incredibly inviting.

Sabo noted absently that Ace had made an effort to at least try to clean up the room. The dusty sheets that had covered most of the furniture had been balled up and tossed into a corner and he had pulled open the window's shutters, allowing for a rather stunning view of the night sky through the condensation running down the panes. On the small table next to the roaring fireplace stood a few bowls of steaming water and Luffy's damp clothes had been tossed over the backs of the chairs to dry out.

"Hey," Ace greeted, keeping his back to the blond while he shook out another blanket over the still form on the bed. "Could you pass me one of those bowls and a rag?"

"Sure." Snatching up the requested items, Sabo approached the enormous bed.

Ace grinned and gently eased Luffy's arms out from under the sheets and pushed up the sleeve of the shirt Chopper had produced from somewhere for the younger pirate to wear. He dipped a rag into the warm water, wrung it out tightly and started to carefully clean Luffy's arms, scrubbing the dirt and grime away with confidence and ease which only confirmed to Sabo that it probably wasn't the first time Ace had had to care for his little brother in this way.

"How are the other two?" Ace asked, interrupting the silence that had fallen over them and making Sabo start slightly.

"Oh, well, Chopper's got the woman stabilised for the time being. He's nearly finished the antibiotics and he suspects she'll turn it around pretty quickly once he can give it to her. The guy's back is pretty wrecked but now that she's examined him, Kureha doesn't think it's as bad as she first thought. She's in theatre with him right now. She seemed to think she might be able to fix it without invasive surgery."

"Well, that's something," Ace reasoned.

Sabo grimaced. "Yeah, but still sounded painful. She was talking about muscle and disc manipulations and she was putting together something that looked suspiciously like a rack." Ace shuddered. "How is he?" the blond asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Okay, I think. He's not blue any more, at least. He was muttering something about meat just before you came in."

"Meat, seriously? He wants to eat already?"

Ace was not a subtle man, which unfortunately meant that he was unable to hide the shock that flashed across his face. Sabo felt an unexpected stab of guilt deep in his chest; he had obviously asked a stupid question. He could practically sense the comfortable comradery they had been building up crumble around them.

Ace recovered quicker than the blond and smiled, but it looked forced. "Luffy would eat sleeping if he could, and he has a crazy metabolism. Meat is his favourite food. You ever need to bribe him, offer him meat."

"I'll bear that in mind," he replied weakly. He tried desperately to overlook his faux pas like Ace was valiantly trying to do, but the reminder that despite all that Ace had told him over the last few days the two pirates were virtually strangers wouldn't stop running through his mind.

He didn't know them, not like he apparently should. Regardless of the apologetic expressions Ace kept shooting him while he resumed cleaning up Luffy, Sabo felt the heavy weight of the man's expectations settle on his shoulders like never before. Despite knowing of Sabo's amnesia and all that it meant, Ace had slipped up. He had been _surprised_ that he didn't know something about Luffy. Sabo felt more than a little foolish for feeling so agitated. Of course Ace was going to slip up; it was still a relatively new situation. But now there was Luffy to add into the equation too. Would Luffy react the same way? Could he live with disappointing not one, but _two_ people?

He hated that he had reminded Ace that he didn't know everything about them anymore; that they weren't on the same page now. He had noticed more than once that Ace occasionally waited an extra beat after speaking, as if waiting for Sabo to say something, but he never knew what it was he was meant to be saying.

If he was completely honest with himself, he found it a little unnerving that Ace knew so much about him, he had known immediately during their brief tour of the castle when they had found the library that Sabo wasn't going to be leaving it any time soon. For the first time in years, his thoughts and actions were predictable to another person. But what if those thoughts and actions suddenly weren't what they expected of him? What if he one day did something that showed them he wasn't the same person that he used to be?

Irrationally, panic filled him. He wanted to know them. He found Luffy fascinating and he couldn't remember ever having a male friend – for he could at least call Ace that – his own age and the thought that both of them could take away that offer of kinship away made him feel slightly sick.

A tangle of bandages were thrust under his nose.

"Do you want to help me bind up his hands?" Ace asked, and Sabo could detect a hint of hesitation in his voice. "You were always better at bandaging than me."

"Meat." It took him a second to realise that he was the one who had spoken. Ace frowned, confused. "If his metabolism is as crazy as you say, Luffy will need to eat as soon as he wakes up. You look like you have things under control here, so I'll go some find some food."

"But-"

"Besides," he ploughed on, "what if Luffy wakes up and sees me?" Ace stared at him and he edged swiftly towards the door. "It's probably best if you're the only one with him. We don't want him to hurt himself and undo all your hard work." Sabo felt a little bad that he was calling on Ace's big brother instincts to make an escape but he needed some space. He was feeling increasingly suffocated under Ace's heavy gaze.

"I guess," Ace reluctantly agreed.

Sabo was out the door before the other had finished speaking. As soon as the door clicked shut, he collapsed against the wall, overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions running through him. Never before had he felt so uncertain. Dragon had said he could stay and get to know his family, but what if when Luffy finally awoke, they decided they didn't want to know him?

Forcing himself to take a deep, steadying breath, the blond could not shake the feeling that everything between them hinged upon Luffy's reaction. He would be the deciding factor, and to the Revolutionary, who had spent the last ten years uncaring that he was hated and hunted by the government for standing up to what he believed, the notion that he wanted to be _liked_ was a strange one.

**XXX**

**Next Chapter: Younger Brother**


	7. Younger Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: Hi folks! I just couldn't leave my regular reviwers hanging for too long as you all left such lovely reviews and so without further ado, what you've all waited so patiently for :D Enjoy!
> 
> A massive thank you to the wonderful Wordlet for beta'ing!

"- wanted to be the captain but obviously I'm the captain! He's a really good shot though. Oh! And his dad is Yasopp! He's Shank's sniper and he's really cool and Usopp kinda looks like him. Ah! Did I tell you where I met Zoro yet? He was tied up outside a marine base – I forget why – but he can fight with three swords and fought this hawk guy and now has a really cool scar running _all_ the way along here and did I tell you about Sanji yet? He's - "

Ace wasn't entirely sure that Luffy had even paused for breath once since he finally opened his eyes several hours after his abrupt arrival. Luffy had taken one bleary eyed look at his big brother before practically jumping out of bed in his excitement, still healing injuries be damned. Ace had been quick to reassure him that both his nakama – Sanji and Nami, as their names turned out to be – were recovering well. He had heard Kureha storming down the corridor less than ten minutes before Luffy had woken up and from the fact that he could hear her grumbling about idiots who would follow through with her aftercare or else, he summarised that both Luffy's crewmates were on the mend.

Ace had to admit that Sabo had probably had the right idea to let him break the news of the blond's survival to their little brother. Luffy had been animated enough without that added excitement.

Speaking of the blond, Ace noted he hadn't seen him since he had told him that he had found the food. He'd disappeared pretty quickly, with the reassurance that he would only be a few rooms away.

Ace had been relieved. He was concerned that he had upset the blond with his stupid mistake earlier. He scolded himself harshly for forgetting that Sabo didn't have any memories. It was harder than he thought to remind himself that Sabo didn't know everything that he used to, and that they were technically getting to know one another all over again, despite all that they had shared as children. It was just so easy to fall into their old patterns.

Luffy wouldn't do that, Ace was certain. Luffy adapted quicker than anyone else the pirate had ever met to new situations and he had amazing instincts, even if he did occasionally open his mouth before engaging his brain. He wasn't too proud to admit – now anyway, his ten year old self would probably vigorously deny it – Makino might've taught him manners, but it was Luffy who had ended up teaching him the most about dealing with people.

It was obvious to Ace that Sabo was concerned though. He had looked like a man waiting for the other shoe to drop. Granted, Ace had spent the last couple of days trying not to let on that he kept catching Sabo staring at him, in disbelief most of the time. It was like he couldn't believe that he had a family. It made Ace's heart both ache with longing and rage at the world.

He would forever regret not having the power to protect Sabo from his father. If he had, Sabo would never have needed to leave, he wouldn't have been injured so severely and they could have grown up together, like they should've in the first place. Whitebeard's offer of joining his crew hadn't just appealed to him because he had craved the stability of family that Luffy that provided and spoilt him with. Whitebeard was also powerful. Being aligned with him gave him an influence few other pirates would know. He would command respect because of the Jolly Roger on his back and he would never let anyone take away his family again.

"-ce! ACE!"

"What?" he started out of his thoughts. He jerked back when Luffy prodded him in the forehead. "Stop poking me!"

"But you weren't listening! You just staring at nothing," the younger pouted.

"Sorry, Luffy," he apologised sheepishly. "What were you saying?" He internally berated himself as soon as the words were out. He was delaying telling Luffy about the very important person only a few rooms away, simply because he wasn't sure how to raise the subject. If someone - even Luffy - had walked up to him and said "hey, by the way, Sabo's alive", he would have punched them. He'd have been cursing them with the same ferocity he cursed Gol. D Roger if they'd even dared to speak such words.

"Ah, doesn't matter. You'll meet the rest of my crew later. You will, won't you?" Ace nodded eagerly. Of course he wanted to meet the crew who were crazy enough to sail with his brother. Luffy practically beamed.

"I'm surprised you managed to get this far so fast with only the five of you," Ace admitted.

Luffy laughed. "Yeah, Nami said we were making good progress. I didn't think I'd run into you this close to the Red Line though. I thought we wouldn't see each other for ages yet. I hoped to be the Pirate King before we did," he admitted.

"That's gonna take you _years_! You were seriously willing to wait that long before you ran into me? 'Cos I hate to break it to you, but I don't think even the Grand Line is big enough for you to avoid me for that long," the older pirate snorted, not at all surprised Luffy wanted to have achieved his goal before prioritising seeking out his brother.

"Of course! Besides, you said it didn't matter where we were in the world, or that we were on different crews, we'd still be brothers. But I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" Luffy grinned widely, asserting his claim.

Ace drew in a deep breath. Luffy couldn't have given him a better opening if he'd tried. He rose from the chair beside Luffy's bed to settle on the fluffy mattress at his brother's feet. Luffy watched him curiously, his dark eyes suddenly much more alert.

"Right, funny you should say something like that," he started.

"Are my nakama okay?" Luffy butted in, his brow furrowed in concern.

"What? Yeah, they're fine. I already told you that," he explained, suddenly worried his brother might've hit his head on the way up the mountain and he was still confused if he couldn't remember what Ace'd said barely twenty minutes earlier.

"Oh, I know you did. You just looked so serious, I thought it must be about them," the younger pirate admitted.

"Sorry, it's nothing to do with them. It's actually about someone else we know."

"Gramps?" Luffy asked, eyes wide and a heavy dose of fear on his face.

Ace shook his head quickly. "No! No, no! By some miracle, I haven't actually run into him since I left Dawn Island. Have you?"

"No," the other admitted. "So, who were you talking about?"

Ace's stomach churned uncomfortably with a mixture of nerves, excitement and relief that he could share with Luffy one of the most miraculous things either one of them could've wished for.

"Okay, Luffy, I'm gonna need you to stay calm and not run off before I've finished explaining the entire situation. Do you think you can do that for me?" Ace pleaded. For both his brothers' sakes, he needed Luffy to listen to the whole story before they went to find Sabo. It would make everything much easier if they were all on the same page.

Luffy stared at him, his face a picture of concentration and he nodded slowly.

Ace drew in a deep breath. "It's about Sabo."

"Sabo?" Luffy scrunched up his face in confusion, which was justified in Ace's opinion. It was rare for either of them to mention their blond brother – firstly because it had been too painful, and secondly because they had both had the bad habit of turning to speak to him and finding he wasn't actually stood next to them. It had made it easier on them both to just not speak of him, and Dadan and the bandits had followed their example. Though that hadn't meant they had ever forgotten him, not at all. Ace was very aware Sabo had never been too far from their thoughts over the last ten years.

"What about Sabo? Did you find out something about who killed him?" he asked.

Ace could tell from the dark glint in Luffy's eyes that if Ace said yes, he had found the person responsible for taking Sabo away from them, Luffy would willingly drop whichever path he was currently on, the consequences be damned.

"Luffy… Sabo's alive," he said softly, a small smile breaking out on his face.

"Huh?" The little colour Luffy had managed to recover since coming in from the freezing mountain rapidly drained from his cheeks. "Sabo…what?"

"Sabo's alive," he repeated.

Ace had naturally expected an explosion of excitement and explanations – Sabo had explained his encounter with Luffy in Logue Town, and there was absolutely no way Luffy would've missed the familiarities between their 'deceased' brother and the blond man who had assisted him – but Luffy remained worryingly quiet and unnaturally still, with his fringe falling forwards to shield his eyes from his brother's gaze.

"Luffy?" Ace finally prompted, unable to take the silence any longer.

The younger raised his head and tears were streaming down his face. "Sabo's really alive?" he sniffed, ignoring his damp face and staring imploringly at his brother, the disbelief clearly audible in his voice.

Ace couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, steadfastly ignoring his own damp eyes and nodded. Only Luffy could possibly understand the enormity of their current situation and Ace reached for the younger, dragging him into a bone crushing hug. "Yeah, he's alive!" Ace muttered, liking the words more and more with each moment. Now he could finally share the joy with his little brother, it was finally beginning to feel _real_.

Luffy squirmed in his arms, pulling back, his face a picture of delight and Ace had to grab his arm to stop him falling straight off the bed in his enthusiasm.

"Where's Sabo? I wanna see him!"

"Whoa, whoa! Luffy, you need to hear the rest of it first!" Ace implored. "It's important!"

Luffy cocked his head, curious, and sat back down, at which Ace released a sigh of relief. "The rest of it?"

Ace took a deep breath and started talking.

**xxx**

Soft voices just behind the closed door drew Sabo's attention away from the book he had been trying in vain to read. One he recognised as Ace, which meant the other was certainly Luffy, since he doubted Ace would leave the younger's side until he was satisfied he wasn't suffering any ill effects from his trek up the mountain.

The door handle turned slowly, and the voices fell silent. Sabo gently laid the book down on the table and rose to his feet, unconsciously tilting his head until his hair fell across the scar. Ace stepped through first, leading the way and the blond noticed he immediately gave the room a subtle sweep– an unconscious motion Sabo had noticed him doing many times upon entering a new space.

A round face, his hair still in complete disarray from his prolonged rest, peered around Ace eagerly. Sabo was pleased to notice that Luffy's cheeks were flushed with a healthy rosy glow, a stark improvement from when they'd found him outside, and he had changed back into his clothes.

There was a moment's pause as the two studied each other, Ace hovering nervously in the middle. And then Luffy started talking.

"It's really _Sabo!_ You're not dead! Wait until Dadan hears you're alive! NO! Wait until Dogra hears you're alive! He'll be really happy! He saw it happen, ya know. Hey, that's a really cool scar! Is that from when your boat exploded? Can you see out of your eye? Does it still hurt? I hope it doesn't 'cos that'd really suck. Is that why you have a mystery memory problem? Ace told me that you don't remember us, and might not ever, and I don't care! I mean, it sucks that you don't remember building our tree house, or that time we went hunting! Oh, wait – we hunted every day. Never mind then! We had ramen once, do you still like it? You used to really like - "

Sabo was alarmed. He wasn't quite sure what he had expected but Luffy attempting to talk his head off was _not_ it. He shared a dumbfounded glance with Ace, who looked stunned as the blond felt, and he shrugged helplessly as if to say he had no idea what to do about the continuous stream of words coming from his brother either.

Sabo felt his concern growing, because he wasn't entirely sure that Luffy had drawn a single breathe since he entered the room and he could see small trembles starting to wrack the small, lithe frame. Sabo wasn't sure if it was the aftereffects of his earlier physical exhaustion, or something else.

He turned back to Luffy, who was still talking, seemingly undeterred that he had momentarily lost Sabo's attention.

Oddly, Sabo found his attention being drawn to Luffy's hands. From the few minutes he had had in the presence of the headstrong pirate back in East Blue, and the tales Ace had told him, he had pictured Luffy as someone lacking in spacial awareness. He had imagined him waving his arms all over the place and bouncing on the spot, but instead, Luffy stood nearly motionless, the only movement being his hands, which thanks to his devil fruit, he had quite literally twisted into knots, presumably because he was nervous.

The blond was struck with the sudden clarity that Luffy was in a very similar position to himself – they were both meeting all over again, with preconceived ideas of the other, thanks to Ace, who had told each of them about the other and unknowingly causing them both to ponder the same question.

_What if I don't live up to what Ace's told him?_

The realisation calmed Sabo's nerves immediately.

"- yelled when we stole her sake. She - "

"Luffy," Sabo interrupted.

Luffy immediately fell silent, but the trembling continued, and if anything, seemed to increase. The elder finally recognised it for what it was though; a valiant effort on the pirate's part to hold himself back.

Sabo smiled softly and opened his arms. It was all the invite Luffy needed and he threw himself across the room and into his brother's arms, large fat tears flowing unheeded down his face.

As a general rule, none of the Revolutionaries were overly affectionate, instead choosing to focus on getting the job done. One might get a firm handshake, or a congratulatory slap on the back every now and then, but rarely did they hug, so Sabo had no real comparison to go on. But he could admit to himself with some certainty that the hug Luffy had him quite literally wrapped up in was easily the best he'd ever received. True, it was a little painful, he privately confessed; Luffy might've been skinny, but he was shockingly strong. It was also more than a little wet from the tears that drenched the front of his shirt, but he had never felt so loved.

Once again, the rush of affection he felt towards the teen was overwhelming, but Sabo pushed it aside. He would have time to work through his own muddled thoughts later, when they had all calmed down. Luffy gave his affection so freely, it was impossible not to taken in by him, and as Luffy continued to sob into his shoulder, he thought he finally understood why Ace adored the kid so much.

He glanced over to the other dark-haired pirate in the room, who had been suspiciously quiet during the other two's interactions and who was trying to discreetly wipe away the fresh tear tracks dampening his own face. But what amazed Sabo the most, was that Ace had possibly the biggest grin he'd ever seen. Even as the blond returned it, he wondered why the idea of Ace experiencing such joy seemed odd to him.

Ace finally approached them and gently tapped Luffy atop the head.

"Hey, come on, let Sabo breathe a bit, yeah?" he teased.

Luffy sniffed loudly and finally released Sabo from the tight grip he had him locked in. He scrubbed his face roughly before raising his head, and grinning widely.

"Hi, Sabo!"

Sabo burst into laughter. "Hi, Luffy!"

"Most people open with that!" Ace snorted, amused and he ruffled Luffy's hair affectionately.

Sabo hummed thoughtfully. "You didn't. If I recall correctly, you knocked me over and a small mob ended up chasing us. At no point do I remember you saying hello."

"I apologised for that!"

"You did. But you still didn't say hello."

Luffy laughed joyfully, but he was cut off abruptly when his stomach growled loudly. He patted his stomach forlornly. "I'm hungry!"

"What a surprise!" Ace teased.

"I wonder how many meals I missed? I hope it wasn't too many."

Sabo opened his mouth, ready to explain he had found some supplies in the kitchen a few floors down but the door to the study opening cut him off.

They all turned to see a tall, lanky young man, his blond hair partially obscuring part of his face, practically collapse into the door frame, which looked to be about the only thing holding him upright. He held himself stiffly, as if he was in pain, with one arm wrapped protectively around his midriff and he looked just as surprised to see them, as they were to see him.

"Sanji!" Luffy cried excitedly, while Sabo shared a mystified look with Ace behind the younger pirate's back. Ace didn't look like he expected to see Luffy's crewmate on his feet so soon either, which was reassuring.

Sanji nodded in greeting and – gingerly, Sabo observed, like he was unsure his knees weren't going to buckle at a moment's notice – stepped inside.

"Are you okay now?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah. Well, I feel like my back's been wrenched but yeah, I'm fine," he said, eyes darting around the room quickly. "Where's Nami-swan?"

"Nami-swan?" Ace muttered quietly, looking thoroughly bemused at the apparent endearment. Sabo had to try not to laugh; he wondered what Koala's reaction would be to someone calling her 'Koala-swan'. In fact, Sabo mused, he didn't need to, he knew what would happen and it would probably be very painful.

"I don't know where Nami is, I haven't seen her yet."

" _WHAT?!"_

Sabo had to forcefully stop himself from taking a half step back at ferocity of Sanji's shout. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Luffy remained completely motionless, barely even flinching at the volume directed towards him. Sanji was clearly more bark than bite, or at least he was when with his captain.

"You left her _alone?!_ In this huge, creepy castle? Anything could happen to my precious Nami-swan!" Sanji groaned, patting his shirt and finally pulling out a crumpled packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Ace said she was fine. A mystery doctor has been looking after her," Luffy shrugged, unconcerned.

Sanji frowned, confused. "Ace?" he asked, finally appearing to realise that it wasn't just Luffy in the room.

Ace saluted the blond in a lazy greeting. "That'd be me."

"I'm still hungry! Sanji! Cook me some meat!" Luffy demanded, practically bouncing around to his crewmate. He reminded Sabo of an overeager puppy.

Sanji huffed out a plume of smoke. "Stupid captain! Does this look like a kitchen? Where the hell am I meant to get meat right now?"

"AH!"

Sabo was pleased to realise he wasn't the only one who jumped at the unexpected exclamation. They all turned to the still open door and Chopper was stood, staring in disbelief. His little black eyes were darting frantically back and forth between Luffy and Sanji.

"You shouldn't be up yet! Either of you! Oh, what if the doctor saw you out of bed already? You both need to get back into your rooms and rest and…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Luffy and Sanji were both staring unblinkingly at the little creature. Sabo frowned at the pair, unsure of what to make of their expression. He caught Ace's eye and nodded minutely.

Ace sighed and stepped forwarded. "Luffy, this is - "

"MEAT!"

Chopper shrieked and shot out the doorway, Luffy hot on his heels, and Sanji, still rather wobbly, not far behind.

Ace stared dumbly at the spot of air Luffy had just vacated, before huffing, annoyed. They both grimaced at the crashing, banging and shouting that echoed back towards them.

"Hurry up, Sanji!"

"Luffy! Hold up will you? I need to cook it first!"

"HEY! Wait! Meat-san, stop running!"

Sabo rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the headache he could feel creeping up on him.

"Hey," Ace said, draping an arm around the blond's slumped shoulders. "How long do you reckon we have until the good witch doctor tosses us out of here on our arses?"

Sabo considered the question thoughtfully, pointedly ignoring another crash, this one sounding even further away. "Not long if Luffy decides to eat her assistant," he concluded sagely.

Ace heaved a sigh and Sabo staggered slightly as he slumped his weight against his side. "I figured. Guess we'd better go rescue him."

Sabo wasn't at all fooled by the put out act, though. He could clearly see from the badly hidden upturned corner of his mouth that Ace was secretly delighted, and possibly more amused than he had any right to be, by Luffy's energetic antics. And Sabo couldn't deny it was good to see Luffy looking so animated again.

"Which 'him' do you mean? Chopper or Luffy?" he asked teasingly and ducked out from under Ace's arm sharply, almost causing the other to stumble at the sudden lack of support.

"Luffy, of course. He's quick, but he's never actually managed to catch a deer before."

"Actually, Chopper's a reindeer."

"Whatever, Mr Know-It-All."

**xxx**

"BROTHERS?!"

Even as Luffy laughed at his crewmates' twin shouts of shock, Sabo, leant unobtrusively against the bookcase in the rather pleasant room Kureha had allocated to Nami, wondered when the novelty of people referring to him a brother to Ace and Luffy would wear off, if it ever did. It has so far taken him some embarrassingly long seconds each time he was introduced as such to realise that Ace and Luffy were in fact referring to _him_. He hoped that passed quickly, it was like experiencing emotional whiplash every time it occurred, because it was still such a jarring thought.

Ace, however, seemed to revel in the recognition, dipping into a small bow and smirking at the others' shock. He also seemed to enjoy showing off, Sabo had discovered, because he had caught Luffy and Sanji in what was probably a record time and had easily manhandled them into Nami's room when Chopper announced, very nervously, that she was awake. The little creature had made himself scarce, which was probably for the best, because even after a quick meal, Sabo was sure he could hear Luffy's stomach still growling from the other side of the room.

"Yep! This is Ace, and that's Sabo!"

Sabo tipped his hat in greeting when two pairs of eyes snapped towards him. Neither one were particularly subtle in their roving eyes and he could see them both taking in the so very obvious differences in appearance, and he had to resist the urge to squirm. With his pale skin, blond hair and bright blue eyes, he was as light was to shadow when compared to Ace and Luffy who, with their much darker features, could very easily pass for blood relatives – although Ace had admitted to Sabo, as soon as he'd cottoned on to the different surnames, that they weren't actually related, as far as they were aware, anyway. Ace hadn't been able to explain the shared initial but considering both his parents had died before he was even a day old, he had been confident in his assertion.

Nami and Sanji brushed past the more obvious queries – either out of politeness, or maybe they just didn't care, Sabo wasn't quite sure – and immediately launched a flurry of questions at their captain, Nami's voice finally rising above the other's.

"Why didn't you mention that you had two brothers who were both on the Grand Line?" she demanded, and somehow despite the fact she was sat in bed with half a dozen blankets piled on top of her, and her cheeks were still flushed with the aftermath of her illness, she struck quite the intimidating figure. "Do you realise how helpful it would've been to have some first-hand accounts of what to expect when we crossed over the Red Line? We might not have hit that whale!"

"Oh, you hit Laboon? Bad idea. He doesn't like that," said Sabo. Luffy shrugged sheepishly.

"See, that's the advice I'm talking about!" Nami snapped, gesturing towards him.

"Laboon? That thing has a name?" Ace asked, surprised.

Sabo nodded. "Yeah. He followed a pirate ship to the cape after losing his pod. They had to leave him behind though, since the Grand Line was too dangerous for such a young whale."

Ace stared at him, the expression on his face one of complete bemusement. "How do you _know_ this stuff?"

"Because I talk to people, Ace," he teased. He had crossed the Red Line many a time over the years and it was always a pleasure to see Laboon and Crocus, who had some of the most awe-inspiring tales that Sabo had always itched to put onto paper, but the old man had politely asked he defer until he was no longer around to deal with the fuss and bother that they might cause. Crocus had actually been pretty instrumental to Sabo's healing after the tenryuubito attack. He had insisted the Revolutionaries spent at least a week at the cape, worried that the rough seas and possible threats were a real danger to Sabo potentially ever making a full recovery, and Dragon had conceded to his medical advice.

"Kids," Kureha muttered darkly from her spot at the small table. She took a deep swing of her sake, before tossing it aside to join the other empties and producing another from who-knows-where. Sabo seriously wanted to examine the underside of all the tables and chairs because the bottles just kept _appearing_.

"Hey!" Luffy cried, spinning on the spot to face Kureha. "You're a doctor. We need a doctor. Join my crew, Oba-chan!"

Kureha's gaze darkened alarmingly fast. "Oba-chan? Who the hell are you calling Oba-chan?! I'm a spry one hundred and thirty-nine!" A booted foot landed squarely atop Luffy's head and he hit the floor with a loud thump.

"Wow," Sanji drawled. "She's not wrong. She is spry."

Luffy groaned and sat up on the floor to stare forlornly up at the doctor glaring down at him. "You're mean, Oba-chan!" Sabo winced as Luffy took another hit and added 'absolutely no sense of self-preservation' to the list of things he'd learnt about Luffy in the last twenty-four hours.

"He's not very quick on the uptake, is he?" Sabo observed, somewhat despairingly.

"Nope!" Ace grinned. "When we first met, I spent the first three months finding new and inventive ways of tossing him off the mountain and he still kept coming back. None of your ideas worked either, by the way."

"Seriously?"

"Shouldn't you know that?"

Ace and Sabo both swivelled their heads towards the young woman still sat primly in the bed. There was a deep set frown on her face.

"Know what?" Ace asked.

"Shouldn't Sabo've known that about Luffy, since you're brothers," she said, somewhat haltingly.

"Sabo has anaemia!" Luffy cut in quickly, surprising them all.

"Amnesia! It's amnesia! Anaemia is something _completely_ different!" Kureha snapped briskly, dropping back into her chair with a huff.

"Yeah, that!" Luffy grinned, unperturbed at the doctor's anger of his butchering of medical terms.

"How…" Nami started, tentatively, before cutting herself off, realising how rude the question might be.

Sabo smiled at her softly. "I had an accident when I was ten. Ace and Luffy didn't realise I'd survived it," he explained, ignoring Ace's grumblings of "some accident".

"Are you both pirates too, then?" Sanji asked, speaking up before an awkward silence could descend upon them.

"I am," Ace smirked.

"No," Sabo admitted.

"What?!" Luffy whirled around to him, surprise written across his face. "You're not a pirate? How come? You always wanted to be a pirate!"

Sabo smiled sadly. "Luffy, I don't remember ever wanting to be a pirate. I work with the Revolutionary Army."

"The who?" chorused three confused voices.

"Well, you all sound crazy to me. Who in the world wants to live a life on the sea," Kureha broke in with a grumble.

Luffy whirled around, immediately distracted, much to the blond's relief, since it would take a long time to answer everyone's questions about the Revolutionaries and he honestly wasn't one hundred percent sure Luffy would fully understand the implications regardless. And Sabo had the odd desire not to let Luffy, or even Ace, fully understand the dangers of being involved with the Revolutionaries. It wasn't like being a pirate, where if you had enough of a reputation you were offered clemency in the form of the shichibukai. If Sabo was ever caught, he was going to the execution platform, and probably only after an uncomfortable spell in Impel Down where CP9 would no doubt torture him within an inch of his life to find out what secrets he had uncovered.

No, Luffy and Ace didn't need to know the full extent of such a possibility, Sabo thought to himself.

"Hey," Ace nudged his arm, dragging him from his thoughts. "Is he meant to be hiding, or what?"

Sabo followed his gaze to the doorway, where Chopper hovered nervously, his face partially obscured but his back end remained fully in sight. Sabo could see Ace was staring at the little creature thoughtfully, but he couldn't work out what Ace was seeing in him. Deciding not to pry, Sabo shrugged, undeterred by the noise of Luffy and Sanji streaking past the pair of them in yet another effort to catch the reindeer.

"It's the meat again!"

"Luffy, seriously! You need to let me cook it first!"

Kureha looked downright furious, and reached under the table. "I'll cook the pair of you!" she snarled, rising to her feet, a butcher's knife of all things in her hand.

Nami looked suitably alarmed, but Ace calmly stepped forward and snatched the blade from her hands, tossing it over his shoulder to Sabo, who caught it easily and set it upon the top of a bookshelf, high out of Kureha's immediate reach.

"No need for any bloodshed. I'll go sort them out." He turned a stunned Nami and bowed deeply. "Sorry for disturbing your rest."

"Amazing," Nami muttered, as Ace ducked out the room.

"What is?" Sabo wondered.

"Luffy's big brothers are actually polite! Are you really brothers?"

Sabo could only laugh.

**xxx**

Deep in the shadows of the corridor, Ace stood with his bare back lent against the freezing stones, uncaring of the chill, and arms crossed.

Chopper was slowly walking towards him, his little hooves making a reassuring click against the floor. Ace couldn't help but notice the heavy set of the reindeer's shoulders, like the weight of the world had suddenly been rested upon them.

In the distance, their voices echoing off the walls and carried on the icy wind that whipped through the castle, Luffy and Sanji were chatting excitedly to one another, their quest to catch Chopper halted abruptly with a single piece of knowledge.

"Hold on a minute, did that thing just speak?!"

"Huh, yeah! And it was standing on two feet!"

"MONSTER!"

Chopper actually flinched as the word bounced off the walls around them, and hunched down, as if trying to shield himself from its very meaning.

The sadness flickering across the furred face reminded Ace sharply of another young boy who had stood before his brothers, his face shielded by the rim of his top hat, and admitted he was a born noble. The looks of shame and dismay were identical, despite the decade that stood between them.

Ace shifted against the wall, the motion catching the reindeer's attention. The little creature paused before raising his head bravely, despite the tears threatening to overflow. Ace continued to peer down at him thoughtfully.

"What?" he snapped, defensively.

Ace shrugged and let himself slide down the wall until he was crouched and eye level with the reindeer.

"Nothing, you just remind me of my brother," he revealed.

Chopper's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and he glanced over his shoulder, back towards where Luffy could still be heard shouting excitedly.

Ace snorted at the silent communication. "No, not that menace. Sabo, you remind me of him."

"How?" Chopper frowned.

The pirate smiled gently. "Because neither one of you fit the mould you were born into. Sabo was born a noble," he explained, and Chopper's eyes widened in shock. "But he was so different to those other snot nosed bastards who called themselves his parents that he left."

"Why are you telling me this?" Chopper asked, confused.

"He saved himself by leaving - both times," Ace grudgingly admitted, because while he hated the circumstances surrounding Sabo's departure of Dawn Island, he could understand why he'd done it. And why he hadn't returned to them in the forest. Ace had been fooling himself as a child that they could've stood up to Sabo's father, but the reality was that they had been completely powerless and no one had understood that better than his brother. "He had the courage to walk away and accept who he is. You could too," he said.

Chopper stared at him, and for a second, Ace didn't think his words registered with the reindeer, before he snorted in disbelief and made to brush past Ace's knees. He didn't get a chance to reply, though, before Luffy's voice blasted down the corridor.

"MONSTER! Join our crew!"

Chopper froze, Luffy's words freezing him into place.

Ace smirked at his little brother's once again impeccable timing.

"You should seriously consider that offer," he advised, and pushed himself back to his feet. "Luffy won't steer you wrong and he won't care what you are, only who."

Now only able to see the top of Chopper's pink hat, Ace smiled fondly when he heard a loud sniff, and the reindeer reached up to scrub at his face quickly.

"How…how do you know that?" he asked the pirate softly, and Ace was reminded of just how young Chopper still was.

"Because that's Luffy," Ace said with a casual shrug. "Think about it. But not for too long because Luffy doesn't ever take no for an answer."

"There he is! Monster! Come here!"

Chopper shrieked and dashed around Ace, who had to flatten himself against the wall in an effort not to get run over by Luffy and Sanji. Ace chuckled to himself and followed sedately in the trio's wake, confident that there was no rush now that Luffy had discovered that Chopper was potentially more interesting than just food.

They all missed the figure concealed in the darkest shadows, not far from where Ace had hidden himself only minutes before.

Sabo tugged the rim of his top hat, agitatedly. "Noble, huh?" he whispered, silently acknowledging that Ace had omitted a few details when telling him about his family. The idea wasn't new though, all those who had assisted in his rescue and recovery had had their suspicions. And it really didn't change a thing, Sabo concluded, forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other, and search out with his haki to find where the others had disappeared to. He was a Revolutionary and by Ace's account, he had left that life behind more than once. If it took them believing him to be dead for him to attain that freedom, then Sabo really didn't regret leaving. The only remorse he felt was that he couldn't have kept the knowledge of Ace and Luffy's existence. If he had, he might've been able to write to them, to let them know he had made it; that he had survived.

The blond froze, distracted by the sense of yet more people approaching the castle. Sabo rushed to a window, unable to comprehend that there were even _more_ people atop the mountain. Kureha was going to pitch a fit when she realised.

He squinted through the misted up window, trying to determine the identity of their further unexpected guests, thankful that Ace's mera mera no mi had kept the snow at bay.

"Doctor!"

Sabo jerked around, surprised to hear such panic in the little reindeer's voice.

"Doctor! It's Wapol! He's back!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Conflict at the Summit
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the brother's reunion. I'd love to hear what you all thought because honestly, that reunion scene had been something I'd been thinking about for ages and then we were given chapter 794 and it finally had a place!


	8. Conflict at the Summit

With his boots echoing against the stone floor and black coat flaring behind him, Sabo cut quite the striking figure, striding confidently towards the castle doors. Annoyance warred with worry for the castle’s two stubborn residents, who he could already sense outside the safety of the walls. He had no doubt both Kureha and Chopper could take care of themselves, they lived in a frigid wasteland, but they had no idea how many people Wapol had decided to bring along and Sabo was willing to bet there was more to Wapol’s desertion than either had said. When Sabo had informed them of his possible return, Chopper’s reaction alone had been more than enough to indicate they had some bad history between them.

“Seems like the Revolutionaries tip was right on the money,” Ace said by way of greeting, once he joined him at the entrance, Luffy already dashing ahead.

“What can I say? We have good connections,” the blond agreed.

Luffy’s cry of recognition had them both hurrying out in the bitter cold after him.

It was a tense stand-off that greeted them. One side, stood Wapol, his already overweight figure exaggerated even more so by the tin-plate armour he had somehow forced his body into. He was flanked by two others as equally odd in appearance, and none of them looked at all happy, their gazes drawn to the black pirate flag flapping above them.

On the other side of the battlefield, who, even with their backs to him, Sabo could tell were glaring, were Kureha and Chopper; the doctor the more relaxed of the two but the Revolutionary knew she was poised to launch an attack if it proved at all necessary. And Sabo suspected it would. From the furious expression on Wapol’s face, he knew they had a fight on their hands. The man looked in no way prepared to give up the rights to his castle easily.

“Hey! It’s him!” Luffy pointed accusingly at Wapol whose attention snapped to the three new arrivals.

“You know him?” Ace asked, surprised.

“Yeah! He tried to eat the Going Merry!”

Sabo blinked in bemusement. “What’s the Going Merry?”

“Our ship!”

“Wait a minute, he tried to _eat_ your _ship?_ ” Ace turned to the blond. “Any idea what Devil Fruit would let him do that?”

Sabo hummed thoughtfully, mentally running through the list of possibilities that he was aware of. There were more than half a dozen [paramecia](http://paramecia/) types that would allow a human to consume non-perishables but without knowing of any possible side effects of such a fruit, Sabo was at a loss.

“He tried to eat me, too,” Luffy added, almost as an afterthought.

Ace sighed and shook his head. “I guess it was too much to ask that you’d broken the habit of allowing yourself to get eaten by things you shouldn’t, wouldn’t it?”

“That happens often?” the blond dared to ask.

“Frequently,” the older pirate assured him with a ‘what-can-you-do?’ shrug.

How Luffy managed to let himself get eaten often enough that it could be described as ‘frequently’, Sabo didn’t know, but if anyone was going to do it, it would be Luffy, the Revolutionary supposed, stepping aside and letting the said pirate dash past him, straight towards Wapol.

“I’ve got a score to settle with you guys!” Luffy shouted angrily.

“AH! Lord Wapol! It’s Strawhat!”

Sabo glanced sideways at Ace, who didn’t look at all concerned his little brother was barrelling down on the man who Luffy had just admitted had tried to eat him, so he mentally shrugged off his own concern. He did, however, discretely reach and adjust the comforting weight of the metal pipe resting against his back, thought he doubted he would need to use it.

While he hadn’t had much of an opportunity to watch Luffy fight when they were in Logue Town - Luffy had spent most of the time Sabo had seen him either clamped in a pillory or pinned by a marine captain - he had read the reports of Arlong’s defeat, so he was curious to see how Luffy intended to actually deal with Wapol.  

Kureha and Chopper both gasped in surprise when the pirate shot past them.

“What is he doing?” Kureha snapped, and while she made no move to follow, Sabo detected the hint of concern underlying her voice. Sabo could understand why too. Luffy had been conscious only a short while after his arduous climb up the mountain, but he knew Ace was probably the one who knew Luffy’s limitations better than any of them, and he had barely moved a muscle since they had planted themselves in front of the castle, so Sabo was willing to trust his judgment over the doctor’s in this instance.

“Gum-gum…” Luffy’s right arm was suddenly barely a foot from Ace’s face, who barely even blinked at the sudden appearance of a fist, and Sabo calculated that Luffy’s arm was easily stretched over forty feet. And it was still extending while Luffy continued to run straight for Wapol, who’s eyes bulged at the pirate bearing down on him.

“…BULLET!” Luffy cried, his arm snapping back and delivering a one-fisted powerful blow straight to the man’s face.

For several seconds, there was silence, until Wapol thudded heavily into the ground, having been easily thrown dozens of meters. The lightning fast reactions of his two lackeys was the only thing that saved him from taking a rough tumble over the edge of the cliff and straight back down the mountain.

“Ungh! How dare you attack King Wapol, the exalted ruler of the Drum Kingdom!”

“You’ll pay for your insolence!”

Luffy grinned. “Now that we’re not on the Merry, I don’t need to hold back anymore!” he announced looking more than a little delighted by the prospect. Ace laughed heartily and even Kureha seemed to find herself wanting to chuckle. The only one who still looked dazed was Chopper, who had backed up to the point that he was now nearly sitting on Ace’s feet.

“Did… did he just _stretch?_ ”

“Yeah.”

The new voice had Sabo glancing behind to see the Straw hat Pirate’s chef making his way towards them, a small plume of smoke drifting around his head and his gait gave nothing away about the pain he must still be feeling in his back, though, which earned him some of Sabo’s further admiration. He noticed Nami wasn’t with him, however, and assumed she must’ve decided to stay in the warmth and protection of the castle, which was no small amount of relief to the blond, since he wasn’t entirely convinced she had entirely recovered yet, and she had been the worst off of the three pirates on their arrival. If there was one person aboard any type of ship besides the captain that was invaluable, it was a navigator.

“Luffy’s a rubber man,” Sanji explained to the young reindeer, finally drawing level with them.

“What’s that?” Chopper asked, puzzled.

Sanji grinned around his cigarette. “A monster.”

Chopper gasped and his gaze snapped back to Luffy, and Sabo could see the awe spreading across his face. Ace nudged Chopper’s flank and winked at him. Sabo smiled and he had the sudden suspicion that Luffy may have just found his ship’s doctor after all.  

“Hey! Did they say he was a king? So they’re not pirates?” Sanji asked, bemused.

“Nope, not pirates,” Sabo confirmed with a small shrug.

“You maggots!” the King in question suddenly spluttered, still on his hands and knees and bleeding heavily from his nose where Luffy’s blow had landed. Sabo suspected it might even be broken. “You’ve incurred my wrath! I’m going to eat you alive!”

“So, he does actually eat people? Wouldn’t that make him a cannibal?” Ace drawled, unperturbed by the threat.

“It would,” Sabo confirmed sardonically.

Wapol rose to his feet and glared darkly at Ace, who grinned back, before his attention finally landed on Sabo. His eyes lit up and Sabo had to suppress the urge to shudder at the feeling of eyes wandering over him. “Ah, you look like an important person,” said Wapol, smiling and spreading his arms as though waiting for applause. “Have you come to welcome me back to my home?”

“Something like that,” he replied softly, eyes narrowing.

“Well, don’t be shy! Who are you?” While it was posed as a question, Sabo detected the undertone of demand and he was happy to supply the answer.

“Sabo… of the Revolutionary Army.”

Wapol blanched and the grin froze on his face.

“I think you broke him,” said Ace, helpfully.

“Th-there’s only one Revolutionary, Your Majesty,” one of the buffoons associates was quick to point out, which privately amused the blond.

“Ah, quite right! There’s only one of you! Is this all the Revolutionaries can afford to spare? Pathetic!” Wapol laughed.

Sabo couldn't help but smirk at the tyrant King's arrogant dismissal. It was a mistaken observation that many had made in the past and one that he never got tired of correcting.

After all, there was a reason he was one of Dragon's top agents.

**xxx**

Ace glared at the still laughing King. He was offended on his brother’s behalf; for them to think that Sabo alone wasn’t enough to deal with the Idiots Three was a joke. He may not have seen Sabo fight recently but he seriously doubted he had lost any of his fighting prowess in the last ten years.

“You really shouldn’t laugh. There’s a reason there’s only one of me.”

Sabo’s normally pleasant and polite voice had suddenly take on a rather ominous tone, surprising the pirate. He hadn’t raised his voice in any way, yet the unspoken promise was as clear as if he’d shouted to the skies. Ace turned to the blond and his eyes widened at the steely expression that greeted him; his brother’s blue eyes were narrowed and glinting dangerously in the direction of the King. Ace rather hoped he was never subjected to such a glare because honestly, it was rather terrifying.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the sight, and by the looks of Kureha and Sanji’s uneasy stares, neither did they. Ace was used to Sabo being the ‘gentle’ one; the one who could temper Ace’s more aggressive moods with a few well-chosen words and a cheeky grin. But that Sabo was nowhere to seen; gone was the soft-spoken brother Luffy liked to call the nice one, and in his place was the Revolutionary; a Revolutionary who looked more than capable of toppling kingdoms if he so desired.

Wapol’s forced and shaky laughter snatched the pirate’s attention and he turned back to the King, conscious that the oppressive stare Sabo had been forcing upon the man had diminished. In fact, Sabo was no longer focused on the King at all, but was looking around, his face still partially hidden by the brim of his hat.

“Where’s Luffy gone?” he asked quietly.

Ace glanced around too and noticed there was a distinct lack of noise beyond Wapol’s incessant blustering.

“He suddenly realised he was cold, so he went to get a coat,” said Sanji.

Ace frowned. “He could’ve said, I can just heat up the area.”

“No thank you!” Kureha snapped, back still to them. “You’ve melted enough of my heap of rock today.”

“Why’d you care so much about this heap of rock, anyway?” Ace retorted. While it served to offer solitude, which Kureha and Chopper both seemed to prefer - although whether it was originally their own choices to live such lives, Ace wasn’t one hundred percent sure - it offered little else. Ace couldn’t understand the attraction. They were on a winter island, there must be hundreds of other quiet cubby holes dotted all over the place.

“I have no interest in this place at all,” Kureha admitted, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “But this fellow insisted on erecting a memorial to Hiriluk here.”

“Whoa!”

Ace had seen many things on the Grand Line, but watching a four-legged reindeer turn into a giant furry human was definitely a first.

“I get what you meant now,” he said to Sabo, who raised an inquisitive brow at him. “When you asked if he was a reindeer or human.” Sabo grinned.

“King Wapol, its- ”

“It’s the monster! Hiriluk’s monster! It followed him here!”

If possible, Chopper seemed to grow even taller. His fists clenched into tight balls at his sides and he took a few menacing steps forward.

“Dr Hiriluk just wanted to save this country,” he half growled. “I’m not going to let you set one foot in this castle! And I won’t let you take down his flag!”

Ace and Sabo turned as one and stared up the black pirate flag fluttering above them in the breeze. Ace’s heart clenched. He could completely relate to Chopper’s passionate declaration. Ace wore two jolly rogers with equal pride and joy. He couldn’t imagine anyone daring to deface either one of them and he wouldn’t spare the life of the one who tried.

“Show no mercy! Kill them all!” Wapol ordered brusquely, his face red with fury.

“Are you going to fight too, Oba-san?” Sanji asked, stepping up beside Chopper without hesitation.

“Only if you can’t handle it, I suppose,” Kureha replied with a smirk.

“Thanks!”

Ace snorted at the cook’s sarcasm.

“For turning this castle into a memorial for that bumbling quack, you’ll die first, Doctor Kureha!”

“Doctor!”

For all his sudden size, Ace was suddenly reminded just how young, and probably inexperienced, Chopper was in confrontations. He had his transformation powers and intelligence on his side, but none of it translated into action that would save Kureha from a direct hit. Thankfully, Sanji was on the case and blocked the ball of hair with one leg, not even dropping his cigarette in the process.  

“Who are those goons?” Sabo asked, motioning with a graceful nod to the two men with Wapol.

“The one who looks like a boxer with the afro is Kuromarimo. The other jester guy is Chess. They were the Magistrate and Head of Staff when Wapol lived here,” Kureha explained, watching Sanji hop around trying to rid himself of the ball of static hair now attached to him hopelessly.

“What the hell is this stuff? Reindeer, help me get it off!”

“Ah, now it’s on me! Take it back!”

“Hey! No, don’t – at least take a few of them!”

Ace had resolved to stay out of the fight with Wapol. Luffy clearly had unfinished business with the guy and Ace had no doubt that his little brother could handle him. But watching the two jump around, unable to actually fight properly, he decided then and there to amend his decision to ‘mostly stay out of it’.

“Stand still,” he ordered. Two obeyed immediately, with Sanji managing to hold an impressive frozen position on one leg. Ace mimicked a gun salute with his right hand and shot a couple of sparks out the end of his fingers. They hit their targets dead on and, within seconds, Sanji and Chopper were both afro free.

“Thanks!” Sanji shouted, recovering quickly and launching himself at Kuromarimo, Chopper quick on his heels and racing towards Chess.

“Aren’t you going to help? Isn’t that one of the reasons you’re even here?” Ace asked, turning to the blond who didn’t look he was going to move anytime soon.

“I think adding a Revolutionary _and_ a Whitebeard Pirate to the mix might be overkill. And I suspect Kureha would like the castle to remain in one piece, at least,” he said. “They look like they have everything under control.”

In that instant, Chopper disappeared into Wapol’s mouth.

“Chopper!”

“Under control? Right,” Ace drawled. The blond frowned, looking a little disappointed to be proven wrong.  

The pounding of running feet and crunching snow had them both turning to see Luffy dashing back towards them.

“Ah, there he is. Bet he got lost in there.”

“Luffy!” Sanji shouted. “Grab my foot!”

“Got it! Hey, Sabo! Watch this!”

With speed and dexterity that could only come from someone made of rubber, Luffy whipped his body into a vicious spin, and combined with the force of Sanji’s kick, flung himself at Wapol, colliding with the man’s stomach. Transforming in the blink of an eye, Chopper popped out with a gasp and landed unevenly next to Sanji and, to the relief of all, he only looked a little soggy but no worse for wear.

“Sabo! Did you see? Did you?” Luffy gushed, beaming towards the blond.

“Yes, Luffy.”

“Show off,” Ace muttered, although his proud grin belied his supposed annoyance.

“Like you don’t,” Sabo grinned, reminding Ace of his little altercation with Kureha only yesterday. Ace shrugged, unrepentant.

“Um… what is Wapol doing?” The nervous lilt in the cook’s voice had Ace turning and his jaw dropped at the sight. Chopper whimpered.

“AH! He ate them! Cannibal!” Luffy shrieked, pointing accusingly at the devil fruit user whose comrades’ legs slowly disappearing into the cavernous depths of Wapol’s massive mouth.

“Okay, when he said he ate people, I really didn’t think he meant literally!” Ace spluttered, feeling very unsure of what to make of Wapol’s rather extraordinary talent.

Wapol grinned and alarmingly loud clanks and bangs echoed from inside him. “Now you’ll witness the miraculous fusion!”

Sanji gaped, and Ace saw him exchange a confused look with Luffy. “Fusion? You mean, those two merged?”

“Baku baku no mi,” Sabo muttered.

Ace spared him a glance. “What?”

Not taking his eyes off the scene in front of him, the blond explained. “The baku baku no mi fruit. It allows the user to eat anything except seastone.”

“Let me guess, it can also merge things?”

The door that had appeared in Wapol’s stomach crashed open with a metallic bang that echoed harshly on everyone’s ear drums.

“Yeah, although I thought it might be a little less…” The blond trailed off, looking rather lost for words. Ace could understand why. Kuromarimo and Chess barely looked any different to before they were devoured.

“COOL!” Luffy yelled, the only one who looked remotely impressed at the sight of one man piggy-backing on another.

“Not cool, Luffy,” Ace corrected, with a frown. “They look ridiculous.”

Kureha tutted. “If they were weak, the citizens would’ve stopped them from taking all the doctors. Don’t underestimate them.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same about Luffy,” Ace smirked. He turned to Sabo, expecting the blond to agree with him, but the Revolutionary wasn’t paying him any attention. Instead, Sabo’s blue eyes were fixed firmly on Wapol, who still remained the size of a house.

“The first article of Drum Kingdom’s constitution states, “whosoever defies the King’s wishes shall die”. This is my Kingdom and my castle!” More metallic grindings echoed across the mountain top. Ace couldn’t immediately distinguish what it was Wapol was transforming until one arm slowly rose from his side, except it was no longer simply an arm, but an oversized pistol barrel.

For a split second, relief filled the Whitebeard Pirate that it wasn’t being pointed in anyone’s particular direction. Himself and Luffy were immune to bullet injuries, but the rest of their friends were not. A direct hit from a trajectory that size into a delicate organ could well result in death, skilled doctor on hand or not.  

At least it was aimed away from them, even if it was towards the castle. Ace was sure Kureha and Chopper would prefer to have a wall destroyed rather than a dead friend. Except… Ace frowned. Wapol was still raising his arm. Ace might not have ever really used a gun of any kind before but even he knew flight paths of bullets and a shot from that angle would disappear over the castle towers. Confused he glanced over his shoulder.

Pink and white on a blanket of black fluttered proudly.

Ace felt his eyes widen in horror. But the realisation had come too slow.

“That quack doctor’s flag must come down! It ruins the whole look!”

The sharp crack of pistol fire went straight through them all.

**xxx**

No one moved.

For several tense seconds, Sabo thought Wapol might’ve missed, but the crack of the wooden flagpole proved Wapol had hit true. The black flag fluttered once more before gravity won over and it tipped sideways, the snow quickly rising up to meet it.

Sabo felt like he watching it all in slow-motion. He was not a pirate, but he knew many and the pride they had in their symbols of freedom were unrivalled.

“…the pirate flag…” Luffy whispered, with undisguised shock. Sanji stood slacked jaw next to his captain, his cigarette falling forgotten to the ground.

Chopper was the first to recover, launching himself with speed born of adrenaline and rage straight at Wapol.

“What have you done to the doctor’s pirate flag?” he screamed, the transformation from toddler to towering beast a reflection of the size of his anger. “He even tried to save you!”

“Chopper! What are you doing? You can’t reason with him!” Kureha shouted.

Two more gunshots rang out and Chopper collapsed to the ground.

“CHOPPER!”

Kureha’s scream was gut wrenching. It cut straight through Sabo like a knife. He had heard far, far too many screams like that over the years and it never got any easier to hear.

The reindeer twitched and managed to roll onto its back, thankfully still breathing steadily despite the pain he must’ve been in.

Unconsciously, the blond snatched his pipe from his back, ready to step into the fray and get Chopper out of there. An instinctive part of him expected Ace to be right beside him when he took his first steps forward, but the Whitebeard Pirate remained frozen in place, gaze still fixed solidly on the now destroyed flag pole. His steel grey eyes were blazing with fury and his whole body seemed to tremble. Flames, burning bright and hot, licked at his arms.  

“Ace,” Sabo said softly. The pirate recoiled, like he been bodily struck but the blond was relieved to see he regained control of his inner fire.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” said Ace quietly, glaring at Wapol over his shoulder. The man actually flinched and took a couple of steps back.

“What is he doing?” Sanji’s words had them all turning once more to the castle turret just in time to see Luffy reach the top of the tower. Sabo was mildly surprised at the speed in which he had managed to get back to the top, dragging the downed flag behind him. A sleeve was torn forcefully from his jacket and used to lash the flag pole back into place. Leaning precariously atop the tower roof, Luffy stood strong and tall next to the flag, which fluttered weakly once, twice, three times before the wind caught it and it whipped around Luffy’s head defiantly.

Luffy had a dangerous look about him; different to Ace’s, and certainly different to the one Sabo knew he had, but one thing he admitted they all had in common - and it was probably the first physical resemblance that had him truly believing they shared common childhood experiences - was the glint in his Luffy’s eye. It held a promise Sabo just _knew_ Luffy would follow through with.

“You’re a bunch of frauds!” he cried down, his voice carrying easily despite the wind. “You pretend to be pirates but you weren’t willing to risk you lives! You don’t know the meaning of this flag!”

“The meaning of that flag?” Wapol sneered, regaining some equilibrium from Luffy’s insults and performing the trick of those who felt they were entitled by somehow managing to stare down his nose at something whilst looking up. Sabo hated it with a passion. “Mwa ha ha ha! There is no meaning to a stupid pirate rag!”

Luffy’s gaze narrowed. “That shows what you know. This flag isn’t something you fly on a whim!”

“You fool! I’m the King! I’d never fly a pirate flag except as a joke!” Wapol thrust his arm forward again and there was the distinct sound of a pistol cocking. “I told you, this is _my_ Kingdom! I’ll keep shooting that stupid rag down until it stays down!”

“Again?” Sanji sounded genuinely pained by the very idea.

“You can’t break it! The skull and crossbones is - ”

The crack of a gunshot rang out.

With mounting horror, which was echoed verbally by Chopper and Sanji, Sabo realised Luffy wasn’t moving. He wasn’t even trying to dodge. His rubber body would absorb some of the hit for sure, but that wouldn’t protect him from the heat of the burning metal that was sure to strike him.

Unbidden, the smell of burning timber and flesh hit him; the scar around his eye tingled with phantom pains. It took him a second to realise that heat he was feeling was real. He reeled around.

Ace was nearly entirely ablaze; hot flames jumping and sparking dangerously. Unconsciously, Sabo took a half step back, sensing their fellow companions doing the same.

“Hiken!”

Drawing back his fist, Ace punched the air and a column of fire erupted, speeding with such ferocity that it caused nearly everyone to cry in alarm and shield their eyes.

It was a humbling display of strength from Whitebeard’s Second Division Commander, but Sabo knew it was nowhere close to being at full power.

The flames absorbed Wapol’s bullet and enveloped Luffy, who disappeared into the fire without even a flinch.

Wapol spluttered several times, trying to catch his breath in the stifling heat. He looked dreadfully pale but forced a smirk. “You realise you just hit your comrade! What a fool!”

Ace scoffed. “You’re the fool. You really think I’d do something to endanger my little brother?”

A hundred feet above them, Luffy, still holding onto the pirate flag, emerged from the dying flames completely unscathed. Not even his clothes were scorched. The same could not be said for the plateau. Barely any snow remained in the wake of Ace’s angry counterattack.  

“What?! That’s impossible!” The former King shrieked.

“Geez, this moron really doesn’t get it.”

Sabo turned to Ace, who was still obviously furious but making a conscious effort to restrain himself after his earlier outburst and let Luffy deal with the guy. Ace caught on to his unspoken question.

“A pirate flag… it’s a conviction of will and that can never be destroyed,” he said, so softly the blond almost missed it. He frowned thoughtfully at the pirate. His gaze dropped to the tattoo running the length of Ace’s upper arm; the bare muscles were coiled tight with the effort on Ace’s part to hold back.

“It’s not something to be laughed or _shot at!_ ” Luffy screamed, in echo of his brother’s words. Ace’s jaw clenched.

_“That scar, it’s from the tenryuubito’s attack, right?”_

The underlying pain he had heard in Ace’s voice when he had tried to convince him that he really was their Sabo back in that alley was mirrored in Luffy’s voice, which rang in Sabo’s ears and made his own heart clench in shared misery. Ace and Luffy knew he’d been shot – Ace had told him – but it was only really hitting the blond that they _knew_. What they must’ve imagined happened when his boat burst in flames probably didn’t even come close to the true horror or pain Sabo suffered, but they had still known. Sabo had lost many close comrades over the years, but he couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain the two brothers had gone through ten years ago.

It was another startling eye opener for the blond, who had given up hoping the actions of a tenryuubito would cease to surprise him, even now, a decade later. He had seen thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people whose lives had been turned upside down by a tenryuubito, but he had never known a victim other than Koala on such a personal level before.

Luffy was out of reach, but Ace was stood still as a statue next to him and he turned – to say what he, he had no idea; words weren’t going to fix anything, he knew that – when the stark black ink on Ace’s left upper arm caught his eye.

He gazed at it, suddenly mesmerised by the crossed out S. He had initially thought it was a spelling mistake, but… The image of blue on black fluttering in a gentle wind flashed to the forefront of his mind, but it disappeared before he could fully grasp onto the thought. Frowning, Sabo turned a quizzical gaze back to Luffy, their earlier conversation rushing back to him in a flood.

_“You’re not a pirate? How come? You always wanted to be a pirate!”_

Sabo closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

“That tattoo on your arm… it’s a jolly roger… isn’t it?”

Ace’s head snapped around, his eyes blown wide with surprise. He raised a hand to the black ink and nodded slowly. “Yes. It was yours.”

“Why?” Sabo whispered.

Ace smiled, but it was marred by a hint of sadness. “A man only dies when he is forgotten.”

It was not a phase Sabo had heard before, but the realisation and acknowledgement that Ace had taken his jolly roger and had carried it to that day in memory of Sabo’s Will to be a pirate; in memory of the freedom he had evidently so desperately wanted, was poignant. Sabo knew his apparent childhood dream of piracy was well and truly over, but regardless of that fact, Ace had found a way to carry it on for him. Despite his years of absence, he had not been forgotten; Ace and Luffy had, in their own ways, kept him alive and a piece of him with them.

But it was also clear in that moment that, while Sabo carried the physical scars, Ace and Luffy had not escaped from the tenryuubito attack unscathed. The memories that Sabo had no recollection of still haunted them, he realised, noticing that Ace was starting to spit fire again and that an expression of such sorrow did not suit Luffy’s usual demeanor at all. Sabo couldn’t do anything about the past, but the present he could fix.

Drawing another deep breath, Sabo raised his head towards the tower.

“Oi, Luffy!” Everyone turned to him. The blond smirked. “You gonna stay up there all night, or are you going to show me what you can do to people like Wapol here?”

Behind him, Wapol spluttered with indignance, his threats of retribution falling on deaf ears, for Sabo only had eyes for Luffy, who stared at him, face blank for several seconds before he broke into an enormous grin.

“Shishishi!”

 

Returning the younger’s grin, out the corner of one eye, Sabo spotted Wapol stagger to his feet, his face red with fury and nasty glint in his eye.

“You won’t keep me from my castle! You can’t!” He raised his arm, still transformed into the gun and fired off several rounds in quick succession, forcing everyone but Ace to dodge or duck. When the smoke cleared, Wapol had vanished.

“Ah! He’s gone! How’d he do that?” Luffy called down from his perch, confused. “Where’d he go?”

“Inside, probably,” Kureha huffed, and she looked torn between staying with Chopper, who quickly moved to block the King’s lackeys from following him into the castle, and chasing after Wapol to make sure he didn’t do anything … especially as Nami was still inside.

“Stay here,” said Ace, making the decision for her. “I’ll go.” He nodded once to Sabo, who returned it with a nod of his own, before he turned and jogged into the castle. With a yell, Luffy vaulted from the tower and through a window; a rain of snow, ice and glass raining fell to the ground.

Sabo watched until Ace’s tattooed back disappeared through the entrance doors before turning back to Chopper. The young reindeer was panting heavily and blood dripped from his flanks to pool at his feet, but despite the pain he stood tall and strong.

“You won’t stop us,” Kuromarimo smirked. “His Majesty will retake his castle and the island will bow to him once again!” He threw several rounds of his afros balls in rapid succession in all directions, forcing them all to scatter.

“Doctor!” Chopper shouted, barely dodging the balls flying towards him so focused he was on watching the ones aimed at Kureha. Sabo ducked and weaved with ease through the flying projectiles and landed in front of Kureha. One slash of his pipe knocked them back easily and forced Kuromarimo and Chess’s to duck sharply to avoid their return, cutting off their laughter abruptly.

“Chopper,” Sabo said, rising from his crouch. “Don’t focus on anything but your opponents. Sanji and I will make sure nothing happens to Kureha or the flag, okay?”

Sabo was relieved to see his words seemed to reassure the reindeer because he nodded and launched himself at Chess and Kuromarimo without any further hesitation. He glanced briefly at Sanji when the other blond appeared at his shoulder before focusing on Chopper again.

“What?” he asked, sensing the cook had a question.

“Should we really be letting him fight in his condition? We could – I mean, you definitely could – take those goons ourselves and let Chopper play defence.”

Sabo understood the other’s concerns. He had more than once been put in a position where he’d had to ask an injured comrade to fight, and Chopper was definitely suffering – the spots of blood staining the remaining snow were a testament to how hard he was fighting – but Sabo also remembered the villagers had described Chopper as the “Witch’s monster”. Chopper had transformation powers beyond anything that Sabo had seen before, and he could completely understand how it could appear scary to some people, but none of them had screamed monster to him. He wholeheartedly believed Chopper still had more to show them. All rumours had a basis of fact, Sabo had come to learn.

“He can do this,” he said confidently, sensing more than seeing Kureha nod beside him. “He _needs_ to do this,” he added softly, watching Chopper land a power punch to Chess and, with a soft ‘pop’ immediately transform into the more familiar two-legged toddler sized ball of fluff, neatly avoiding a return from Kuromarimo and overbalancing the pair. The look of sheer determination on his face was inspirational.

Despite the fact he had made it clear he was acting as a guard to both Kureha and the castle, preventing from any stray or intentional attacks, the two idiots seemed unsettled by his presence and disturbed at the ease in which he knocked back every single attack that they sent his way. Sabo noticed they purposely started to aim at him after a while, and he couldn’t help but smirk, which seemed to upset them even more. One always had an eye on him, while the other focused on Chopper, which was not at all to their advantage. They might have made a formidable team when they worked together, but individually, they had plenty of weaknesses. A fact not unnoticed by Chopper, Sabo was pleased to see. The reindeer always went for the one who wasn’t paying him any attention at all, leaving the other helpless except to cry out warnings that arrived too late for the other to avoid a harsh blow.

Chopper’s numerous transformations were well beyond all of Sabo’s expectations and he was extremely curious as to how he’d managed to achieve such prowess, to the point, more than once, he had to force himself to remain focused on the goons and not just watch Chopper.

A final blow to the Kuromarimo’s face finally knocked the pair apart. With a vicious twist, Chopper landed heavily on Chess’ head, knocking the man out before launching at Kuromarimo, who wasn’t quick enough to dodge another punch. The man flew across the clearing and thumped hard into a tree, shaking the pine branches violently and dumping a pile of snow upon the unconscious man.

Panting heavily and shaking with exertion, with a final ‘pop’ Chopper shrunk again and fell backwards, landing spread-eagled upon the near frozen ground with a soft thump. Sabo winced in sympathy, knowing intimately the pain such an exertion on the body could bring about. He swiftly crossed the distance between them, at Chopper’s side before Kureha and Sanji could begin to move, and knelt down next to the exhausted reindeer.

“Good job,” he said, tapping the pink hat gently. “You just won your first fight.” Chopper grinned weakly before accepting a hand from the Revolutionary and sitting up with a pain filled groan.

They had no time to celebrate, however, as the roar of fire reached their ears. Sabo raised his gaze to the castle, just catching sight of red in the windows before they exploded outwards in blast of dust, stone and timber.

A pained cry quickly followed and they all watched Wapol fly through the gapping hole in the stone wall, the captain of the Strawhat Pirates hot on his heels. One body fell to the ground with a ungraceful thud and a groan, their clothes smouldering; the other landed on both his feet and fists raised, a grin on his face and a glint in his eye.

“You didn’t like that floor of your castle, did you?” Sabo asked weakly, risking a glance at Kureha who stood – her arms crossed angrily – glaring at the damage.

“Wait! Wait!” Wapol spluttered, trying feebly to rise to his feet, hands raised as if it would pacify the pirate standing over him. “I can give you treasure! I’ll give you a title! Vice King!”

There was a soft snort of amusement and Sabo turned to see Ace striding across the clearing, looking like he’d barely broken a sweat. “The only king Luffy will ever be is the Pirate King.” It was a presumptuous declaration, but in that moment, seeing the pirate stand triumphantly over the tyrant, Sabo believed it.

“Gum-gum…” Wapol whimpered. Luffy smirked. “…BAZOOKA!”

Sabo couldn’t stop the small grin that broke out as the man disappeared into the distance, his cries of pain and anger diminishing with every second. Chopper, with more energy than expected from someone who had just won his own battle, jumped to feet and ran towards Luffy, waving his arms in excitement. Sanji shook his head, took a drag of his cigarette and followed more sedately.

“You couldn’t have done that with a little less force, hey, Luffy? Look at the castle! And where’s Nami-swan? You better not have let that idiot lay one finger on her!”

“Shishishi! Nami’s fine! She stole his key and - ”

“Not such a weakling anymore, is he?” Ace grinned proudly and, despite the fact he couldn’t remember a time when Luffy had been weak, Sabo nodded his agreement.

“I’d expect nothing less from the pirate who defeated Arlong.”

“He did?”

Sabo frowned. “You didn’t hear? That’s how he got his bounty in the first place.”

“Geez, if you’re scared, you should’ve stayed behind!”

“I-I-I’m not scared! I’m a brave warrior!”

“Then quit pushing me!”

Ace and Sabo spun around, surprised to see a half a dozen more people trekking towards them. Sabo had no idea where they’d come from but the two in front had no weapons. In fact, the teen who looked to be about Luffy’s age was cowering behind the green-haired youth who looked rather grumpy at being used as a human shield. With a jolt of recognition, Sabo realised he was the swordsman who had been with Luffy in Logue Town.

The slap of sandals was the only warning they got before Luffy dived passed them, charging straight towards the new arrivals. He snapped his arm back, his hand already curled into a fist and poised to strike without thought, his adrenaline still pumping.

“You might want to grab him,” said Sabo.

Ace didn’t even pause to question him, and his hand snatched out and grabbed Luffy’s forearm easily.

“Eh?” Luffy glanced backwards, but he didn’t stop his mad dash.

“Hold up, I don’t think they’re Wapol’s men!” Sabo called to him.

“Oh yeah! It’s Zoro and Usopp! Hi – whoa!” His limb reached its limit and the rebound quickly kicked it. He snapped backwards like a rubber band and landed heavily at Ace’s feet.

“What the hell are you doing, Luffy?!” The green-haired one barked, but despite the gruffness, there was an undertone of curiosity.

“Luffy, who are they?” Sabo glanced over to see the other teenager pointing at both himself and Ace with a trembling hand. Sabo wasn’t sure whether it was from the chill of the mountain top, that hadn’t completely vanished despite Ace’s presence, or fear. He tried smiling at him, in what he hoped was a reassuring manner but it only caused him to squeak and duck back behind him companion.

“Hey! Zoro! Usopp! Come meet my brothers!”

Sabo allowed the loud exclamations to rush over him, shaking his head in amusement before following in Ace’s footsteps, eager to meet the rest of the Strawhats.

**XXX**

**Next Chapter: Ship Sailing Forth**

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember to review! 
> 
> I’m just going to take a moment to address one of the surprisingly frequent comments I receive is regarding Same Difference and a possible sequel. I can categorically tell you I will not be writing a full sequel and the main reason is this fic. Don’t get me wrong, I love Same Difference and have a few one shots in the works, but to me Overcoming an Era is the fic Same Difference could’ve been had I had the confidence in both my writing and my One Piece knowledge. I was a new fan when I wrote Same Difference. Now I’m much more seasoned and daring and I hope this will be a worthy successor to Same Difference.


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